I know people have thousands of them. I haven't got that many. Not many WW2 ones at all. Here's mine. Photo rotated so titles can be read.
It seems to be a successful marketing strategy between 'proper' books and true expensive-for-what-they-are partworks. They give you some meat but whet the collector's appetite for more. The bastards... I've probably got a similar quantity dotted about, most of which are charity shop buys.
They do tend to contain a lot of photos. I say that as a positive, considering licensing photos can cost a lot. I only have a couple because I'm cheap. One on Soviet lend lease tanks (I am not a fan of the 3D graphics used instead of illustrations) and one of the Staghound I got used.
When I was younger I did hope to be an illustrator for them but it didn't work out. I'm surprised more members haven't said they 've got huge collections of them.
OK, OK, by the way could you help me out, do any of them mention a William Smith who served in the army (I think).
In general, these series are not very specific when it comes to individual soldiers. Do you have any other information on William Smith such as regiment, theatre served, etc.
Pikers ! First Osprey book I bought was on the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia. Unfortunately when a collection completist obsessive starts purchasing a series the consequences can be .........unfortunate. Osprey is what it is....graphic heavy intros to military history. Some are excellent, some are poor and some are middling. Some well known historians have written for them (David Fletcher has produced a number of Osprey titles) and some amateurs who should have known better have too. Given the size of series and the amount produced, Osprey frequently produces some of the few English works available on subjects. That, to me, is their selling point. What other publisher is going to allow me to get English language books on Ar 196 units, Italian Destroyers, Air war over Holland in 1940 and USAAF Gunships from WW2 at a decent price. Not many. So good on ya Osprey. What you do....you do quite well as a starting point and an overview.
See, now you've caused an issue, as there's deffo a few missing. They've a habit of creeping backwards in tight shelving. The price is wrong (another mostly charity shop purchaser here), but dead right about the niche easy-access nature. I know a bookseller with customers that replace entire complete sets whenever the design changes... Nobody else quite does things in the same way. The new Haynes's are in a similar territory, and Ian Allan come quite close, but they are essentially good at what they do. Do these count? They don't do they.
I have precisely four Osprey books. You can very easily guess which ones they are. Is it me, or do the covers yellow and delaminate unusually quickly?
I like the ones on the Roman armies and their dress and equipment in different periods - to me it's the illustrations which bring to life these far away times. You do not find that in most other publications... As to the WW2 volumes: introductory reading... but then again: sometimes you need an introduction to a subject. And Osprey's scope of subjects is unique and impressive!
No re-sale value and as all those who collect them finally expire about a million will hit the skip/charity shops