I don't know what time of year they were published, but yes, all photos in the Reach guides were of the previous year's team (so all team photos in the 1924 guide would be of the 1923 teams, and so on).
As for the purpose of the guides, I think we take for granted the easy availability of any and all information, especially sports-related. Publications like the Reach and Spalding guides were like the "baseball bible" in those days. Fans could have the entire year, across all leagues major and minor, covered in one handy publication, and with pictures! The format must have been popular, because it was used by several different publishers of annual guides.
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