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J. Douglas




PostPosted: Sun 26 Mar, 2017 6:45 am    Post subject: Ospery books- yay or nay?         Reply with quote

As some of you may have realised by the four topics I posted on just under two weeks, I love information!

I found osprey books a few years ago, and purchased several books on ships of the line, cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic wars, (volume one and two) and a few books on the 18th century British army. I found these to be great resources

However, one or two members have said a few things about osprey books, and that they can be quite misleading.

So, for medieval books. (Mainly on arms, armour, uniforms* and the various armies) would you say osprey books are an accurate and good resource?

Thank you for any contributions! Big Grin

*well, equipment and clothing.

~JD (James)
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Sun 26 Mar, 2017 7:13 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Of the Osprey books I've seen personally, I think one could do better. Osprey tends to be a bit fanciful. Try most any book here in the 'Bookstore' of the 'Features' section for much better quality info and pictures. Wink ....McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Craig Peters




PostPosted: Sun 26 Mar, 2017 7:13 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Many of the Osprey Books were written at a time when images of primary sources were scattered and not that easy to locate, even on the internet. They were illustrated by artists who clearly knew about medieval arms and armour, but who lacked specialist knowledge required to be really precise and accurate. Now that primary sources are much easier to locate online, I would advise against the Osprey series as a guide for the precise appearance of clothing, equipment and the like.

Instead, you should spend lots of time browsing here: http://manuscriptminiatures.com. Be sure to pay very close attention to details. Of course, there are lots of other good sources on arms and armour (like the books by Oakeshott, Geibig, et al) but Manuscript Miniatures is one of the best places for period imagery.
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Dan Howard




Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Joined: 08 Dec 2004

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PostPosted: Sun 26 Mar, 2017 7:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Some Osprey books are good. Most are rubbish. Without a good working knowledge of the subject it isn't possible to determine which is which. Best to not use them at all.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen and Sword Books
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Sun 26 Mar, 2017 5:19 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

IMHO they are not too good on ancient, Renaissance and Medieval era topics. From the 18th c. on they do OK with considerably more accuracy when dealing with modern times. There are some good researchers and writers and some not-so-good. One particular author, who shall remain nameless, makes a lot of factual errors leading me to believe that he does not research the minutiae he writes about, before he does so. Others are fine.

I guess you get what you pay for and they are cheap and do cover a lot of subjects. Just be careful and try to have some other works on these subjects handy for comparison. I would never base my library on Osprey Books. However, I will admit to owning a few myself.

By the way, http://manuscriptminiatures.com./ seems to have some issues.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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J. Douglas




PostPosted: Mon 27 Mar, 2017 9:02 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lin Robinson wrote:
IMHO they are not too good on ancient, Renaissance and Medieval era topics. From the 18th c. on they do OK with considerably more accuracy when dealing with modern times. There are some good researchers and writers and some not-so-good. One particular author, who shall remain nameless, makes a lot of factual errors leading me to believe that he does not research the minutiae he writes about, before he does so. Others are fine.

I guess you get what you pay for and they are cheap and do cover a lot of subjects. Just be careful and try to have some other works on these subjects handy for comparison. I would never base my library on Osprey Books. However, I will admit to owning a few myself.

By the way, http://manuscriptminiatures.com./ seems to have some issues.

Ok, thank you all for the information!

And it's just the link. I typed manuscript miniatures into Google, clicked on the website link there and I got in. Happy

~JD (James)
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Ken Speed





Joined: 09 Oct 2006

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PostPosted: Mon 27 Mar, 2017 9:24 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Osprey books are perhaps better than nothing but I think that's the best that can be said about them.
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Dan Howard




Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Joined: 08 Dec 2004

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PostPosted: Mon 27 Mar, 2017 4:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ken Speed wrote:
Osprey books are perhaps better than nothing but I think that's the best that can be said about them.


Many are worse than nothing because they are teaching falsehoods. Better off with nothing,. That way there is nothing to unlearn when proper study commences. Half of our time is wasted trying to debunk myths before the true learning can begin.

Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen and Sword Books
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Paul Mullins





Joined: 22 May 2006

Posts: 120

PostPosted: Tue 28 Mar, 2017 5:50 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I consider them to be the Wikipedia in your hands, mostly for gamers and re-enactors. They give a cursory glimpse into a subject and one has to be careful about some of the history. The good thing is they provide a good bibliography (usually) for further research. However, if you just want a basic understanding on a certain topic they can be OK.
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Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

PostPosted: Wed 29 Mar, 2017 7:27 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lin Robinson wrote:
By the way, http://manuscriptminiatures.com./ seems to have some issues.


That's because the forum software included the period (".") in the URL when it made it into a link. Remove the period and it's fine. In my own posts, I try to always make sure I leave a space between any URL I paste in and any punctuation. This avoids the issue.

Happy

ChadA

http://chadarnow.com/
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