PBOTD: 17th February, J Ivester Lloyd - Joey

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John Ivester Lloyd's Joey (1939) was the author's first book. It's the life story of a pony, who is brought up on a farm, sold to a girl called Susan, and then hunts. The 1930s was a decade which saw a transition from the pony biography story of which Joey is an example to stories where the interest was centred on the human element. John Ivester-Lloyd adapted what he did: his later stories saw him leaving the pony biography well behind him as he switched to adventure stories. 

Joey, Country Life, 1939

Two of his adventure stories are particularly interesting as they appeared in the form of booklets printed for Moss Bros, then a well-known provider of riding kit. Presumably these short adventure stories were given out to children waiting to be measured for their riding clothes to still the agony of the wait. Come on, Young Riders! was illustrated by Peter Biegel; Adventure of Two Young Riders by John Ivester-Lloyd's father, Tom Ivester-Lloyd, a well known sporting artist.

Moss Bros story pamphlet, illus T Ivester Lloyd

Moss Bros story pamphlet, illus Peter Biegel
Tom Ivester Lloyd was not the only family member to illustrate John's books: his uncle was Stanley Lloyd, best known for his illustrations for Primrose Cumming's Silver Snaffles and Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series. The People of the Valley (1943) was illustrated by both father and uncle, as Tom Ivester-Lloyd died in 1942 before he could complete the illustrations.

John Ivester-Lloyd's daughter, Delphine Ratcliff, carried on the family tradition by writing pony books. She contributed two titles to Lutterworth's Crown Pony series: The Golden Pony (1966) and Clear Round for Katy (1967). 
Clear Round for Katy (1967)

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For more on John Ivester Lloyd, he has a page on my website.  You can also see more of the work of the rest of the family:

Tom Ivester-Lloyd (1873-1942)
Stanley Lloyd
Delphine Ratcliff

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