Joe
AIRWAR - Closet Find! (Very Limited Offer)
April 20, 2011 12:00 AM
While digging through the Osprey Marketing closet, looking for an old poster, I found an old dusty box. Wondering what treasures it might contain, I dug it out and brought it to my desk. Inside, I found a stack of old Osprey AIRWAR books, a series now long defunct. So here is your chance to pick up a little Osprey history...
I have eleven different books. Eight of them are from the original print runs in the mid-seventies, back when Osprey was based in London. Three are reprint editions done about ten years ago. Here are the titles:
AIRWAR 6: Luftwaffe Fighter Units: Europe 1939-41
AIRWAR 9: Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1939045
AIRWAR 10: RAF Fighter Units Europe 1942-45
AIRWAR 11: Luftwaffe Fighter Units Russia 1941-45
AIRWAR 12: USAAF Fighter Units MTO 1942-45 (Reprint Edition)
AIRWAR 13: German Fighter Units 1914-May 1917
AIRWAR 14: British Fighter Units Western Front 1914-16
AIRWAR 15: Luftwaffe Bomber Units: 1939-41
AIRWAR 19: RAF Bomber Units: July 1942-1945 (Reprint Edition)
AIRWAR 22: USAAF Bomber Units: Pacific 1941-45 (Reprint Edition)
AIRWAR 24: Luftwaffe Fighter Units: Europe 1942-45
So here’s the deal: all eleven books for £50 plus shipping. First come, first serve. Payment via Paypal.
If you are interested email me here: blog@ospreypublishing.com
As one might expect from 30-year old books, some are a bit brittle. However, as they seem to have spent most of their life in a box, most are still in pretty good shape. None display any major blemishes.
COMMENTS
Was the AIRWAR series a failure or was it superseded by the two current aviation series? And what happened with the original VANGUARD series? Was it superseded by the NEW VANGUARD series? Or did they co-exist for some time?Does it exist a complete list of all the series and titles you have published over the years? When I searched Wikipedia I found an incomplete article. It would be interesting to read more about the company's history - either in the blog or on WIikipedia.
Report this comment
Having discovered the Men-at-Arms series in 1981 at the age of 14 I never even knew the AirWar series existed until 1995 when a picked up a copy of British Fighter Units 1917-18 at the now gone Sky Books on E. 50th Street in NYC. I rather liked the mix of aircraft profiles, uniforms & even airfield vehicles in the plates. I'm still kicking myself for not getting any of the special reprints when they were available, particularly USN Carrier Air Groups & some others. My guess as to why the series was discontinued is likely at the time there was so much available on military aircraft of 1914-45 already though I find the AirWar books much better than the original Combat Aircraft series from the mid-80's. Hopefully the books may be reprinted again.
Report this comment
Hey guys,
The Airwar series ran for 24 volumes from 1977-79. I'm afraid there is no one here now who cna say for sure why it was canceled. However, since the Aces series didn't begin until 1994. It's a similar, story for Vanguard which published its last book in 1988 while New Vanguard published its first in 1993.
I can provide complete series listings for these series, perhaps in future blogs. Would more Osprey History blogs be of interest?
Report this comment
I'm sure readers would enjoy more about the stories behind the series & books. The "old" Vanguard series was generally quite good especially when covering a single type of AFV though some titles like Lee/Grant Tanks in British Service and The Guards Armored Division had "scene" artwork in the plates that really should have been separate with vehicle markings and crew uniforms. I do think that the cutaway of the "New" Vanguard titles are a drawback since the illustration is usually ruined by being in the middle of the book so the view is distorted.
Report this comment
These have no sold. Thanks.
Report this comment