Издательство Osprey Publishing: История и Настоящее

British publisher

Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces over a dozen ongoing series, each focusing on a specific aspect of the history of warfare. Their publications include the Men at Arms series, running to over 500 titles, with each book dedicated to a specific historical army or military unit. Osprey is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.

In the 1960s, the Brooke Bond Tea Company began including a series of military aircraft cards with packages of their tea. The cards proved popular, and the artist Dick Ward proposed the idea of publishing illustrated books about military aircraft. The idea was approved and a small subsidiary company called Osprey was formed in 1968. During these years, the firm grew steadily, adding new titles and new series to their catalogue. Although they have produced books of all types, the main focus remains on military history, particularly the military history of Britain. Osprey Publishing now publishes an average of 10 12 books a month. Shire Books was acquired in 2007, and the science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint Angry Robot was purchased from HarperCollins in 2010. The reprint house Old House was acquired in 2011. To continue expansion, a majority stake in Osprey was sold by Botts to Alcuin Capital Partners in 2011. In 2012, Osprey acquired Duncan Baird (later renamed Nourish) and its Watkins imprint. In 2013, Osprey acquired British Wildlife Publishing. In 2014, Osprey and its imprints were sold by Alcuin. Angry Robot, Nourish, and Watkins went to Etan Ilfeld while Osprey, Shire, Old House, and British Wildlife went to Bloomsbury Publishing.

M Harold Page reviewed Osprey books Steampunk Soldiers, The Wars of Atlantis and Orc Warfare in Black Gate, saying "each book is an excellent worked example of fabricated military history, fun to read in its own right, inspiring for a writer, and potential background material for a Games Master". Martijn Lak noted that "Osprey Publishing are to be applauded for paying attention" and publishing works about events that are "largely unknown to the Anglo American audience". Lak also noted that many Osprey books, for example from its Raid series, are "superbly illustrated with pictures, maps, and photos."