Slitherine

Osprey books vary in quality by age and author. Like other academic works, they are a part of a larger group of works that needs to be viewed together to make a fuller picture. They are not 'one-stop shopping' for all the best information, although as pretty as many of them are it's tempting think so. Hence the value of the bibliographies, as mentioned.

That said, there is a lot of good information to be had here, with some exceptions. Given that for many ancient peoples the primary source material is often highly stylized period artwork, much of the reconstructions are guesswork based on a few sources at best. Exploring the library for books on contemporary art can be very helpful, especially where color and fabric patterning are concerned. Museum and antique arms catalogs are also good sources.

Considering that ancients gaming contains a high degree of speculative fantasy, I wouldn't fault a player for painting an army based on Osprey. Sometimes you have to--the figure manufacturers often follow even the outdated illustrations!

MCollett wrote: ...
My estimate of the relative usefulness of the components of a typical Osprey book, from most to least valuable:—
1. The bibliography.
2. The B&W illustrations accompanying the main text that show contemporary depictions of troops or archaeological discoveries of original equipment.
3. The notes on the colour plates.
4. The colour plates.
5. The main text.

Best wishes,
Matthew

I concur in general with your ranking of the contents for the Osprey history publications, e.g. Men at Arms series, Campaign series, etc. I certainly don't consider them the last word as a source but own many of them and have generally found them useful as a starting point or supplement to other sources.

Unfortunately what the army lists seem to be padded with are the least valuable components of these which in addition are old and possibly out dated as well. Rather than using more space in the army list books for additional lists or additional historical background, instead we have the paintings/plates of questionable value and books priced on the basis of their illustrations and color content. I guess it's being a successful business model for Osprey given the rules popularity so far and the expectation that official lists are needed by all the players.

I wish they would redo the older books aswell but most people dont use one source for an army or people .As an example osprey is one of the few publishers to print book on tamerlane at all (with illustrations ) and I am sure that what you would consider 'accurate' is subjective , someone else might not feel the same way .