publishing around.

It was originally owned by Berkshire Printing, part of Brooke Bond, the tea company. The company was formed to publish Aircam Aviation, its first series, the brainchild of Dick Ward, the leading aviation illustrator. The series grew out of his work on the collectable cards which were then packaged with Brooke Bond tea. The first Osprey book was published in 1969: Aircam Aviation Series.1: North American P-51D Mustang in USAAF-USAF Service. This set the Osprey style of illustrated information books combining detailed and authoritative text, colour and black & white artwork, and photographs in uniform series formats.

With the success of Aircam, Dick Ward proposed applying the same approach to famous military units. Philip Warner, a distinguished historian from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, was appointed series editor and Men-at-Arms came into being. The first title, Foot Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, was published in 1971. The earliest titles (originally unnumbered) were regimental histories rather than the studies of uniforms and equipment that now characterise most of the Men-at-Arms series, but the focus on uniforms and equipment was strong from the beginning. Osprey quickly became recognised as a leading publisher for military history enthusiasts.

Early in 1972 Martin Windrow, already working on Men-at-Arms as a freelance editor, joined Osprey full-time. Over the next 17 years Martin built Osprey's series publishing, notably taking Men-at-Arms to its 200th title, having contributed a number himself. Back in 1974, no-one, Martin included, had imagined such a future. In the second half of the 1970s Osprey was acquired by the George Philip Group, the map and atlas specialists. Vanguard, now updated as New Vanguard, was launched in 1978 with an initial focus on armoured units. Elite was launched in 1984 with The Paras 1940–84 and now comprises well over 100 titles. In 1987 Martin Windrow left Osprey, but he would be back. At this time, alongside the distinctive and rapidly growing military and aviation series, Osprey published information and reference books in many subject areas and built a significant automotive list.