About
Biographical information on Marcia Lane Foster is hard to find. She was a prolific illustrator, working on Pamela Brown’s later works, and Viola Bayley’s lengthy Adventure series, but her work in the pony book genre was unfortunately small. I love the way she includes the spine of the book in her jacket designs, particularly for Christine Pullein-Thompson’s We Hunted Hounds, where the hounds are seen galloping along the spine, with the rest of the field on the front. I also like her use of white to delineate in Mary de la Mahotiére’s Round-up On Exmoor.
She wrote a few books, which appear to be early readers, all written for Humphrey Milord and the Oxford University Press, and all published in the 1920s. Her Let’s Do It (1938) is a collection of her sketches, and includes a section on the Pony Club.
Finding the books
All the pony books she illustrated are easy to find.
Bibliography
PONY BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY MARCIA LANE FOSTER
Christine Pullein-Thompson: We Hunted Hounds
Collins, London, 1949
Kitty Barne: Rosina and Son
Evans, London, 1956
Mary de la Mahotiere: Round Up on Exmoor
Lutterworth, London, 1961
Gillian Baxter: The Team from Low Moor
Evans, London, 1965
WRITTEN & ILLUSTRATED BY MARCIA LANE FOSTER
Baa-Baa
Humphrey Milord, OUP, 1926
Gee-Gee
Humphrey Milord, OUP, 1926
Moo-Moo
Humphrey Milord, OUP, 1926
Let’s Do It: Sketches of Children etc.
Collins, 1938
CHILDREN’S BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY MARCIA LANE FOSTER
Kenneth Grahame: The Headswoman
John Lane, London, 1921
Cyrus Macmillan: Canadian Fairy Tales
John Lane, London, 1922
Anatole France: The Merrie Tales of Jacques Tournebroche
John Lane, 1923
Netta Syrett: Tinkelly Winkle
John Lane, 1923
William Locke: The Golden Journey of Mr Paradine
John Lane, 1924
Anatole France: Little Sea Dogs
John Lane, 1925
Lucy Diamond: Farmyard Friends
OUP, 1926
Mabel Carey: The Everyday Books for Children
Dent, 1937-1943
Roger Noakes: The Valley In the Woods
Dent, 1945
Noel Streatfeild: The Children of Primrose Lane
Collins, London, 1947
Kitty Barne: Dusty’s Windmill
Dent, London, 1949
Pamela Brown: To Be A Ballerina
Nelson, London, 1950
James Kinross: Blackfoot Lagoon
Gryphon Books, London, 1950
Pamela Brown: Family Playbill
Nelson, London, 1951
Pamela Brown: The Television Twins
Nelson, London, 1952
Kitty Barne: Barbie
Dent, London, 1952
Lane Mitchell: Code Word Bontry
Blackie, London, 1953
Pamela Brown: Harlequin Corner
Nelson, London, 1953
Malcolm Saville: The Ambermere Treasure
Lutterworth, London, 1953
Margaret Baker: Lions in the Potting Shed
Brockhampton, Leicester, 1954
Pamela Brown: The Windmill Family
Nelson, London, 1954
Viola Bayley: Paris Adventure
Dent, London, 1954
Viola Bayley: Lebanon Adventure
Dent, London, 1955
Margaret Baker: Acorns and Aerials
Brockhampton, 1956
Viola Bayley: Kashmir Adventure
Dent, London, 1956
Pamela Whitlock [Ed]: The Open Book
Collins, London, 1956
Viola Bayley: Corsican Adventure
Dent, London, 1957
Mabel Carey: Nicky Goes Ashore
Dent, London, 1957
Viola Bayley: Turkish Adventure
Dent, London, 1957
William Mayne: Underground Alley
OUP, Oxford, 1958
Viola Bayley: The Shadow on the Wall
Dent, London, 1958
Caroll Rankin: Dandelion Cottage
Evans, London, 1958
Hilda Sinopy: Family Goldrush
Dent, London, 1959
Eleanor Spence: The Summer Inbetween
OUP, Oxford, 1959
Viola Bayley: Swedish Adventure
Dent, London, 1959
Enid Blyton: Happy Day Stories
Evans, London, 1960
Viola Bayley: Mission on the Moor
Dent, London, 1960
Frederick Le Grice: Jill is a Bridesmaid
Church Information Centre, 1960
Hilda Sinopy: Both Sides of the Medal
Dent, London, 1960
Lorna Hill: The Vicarage Children
Evans Bros, London, 1961
A Pink Robin Story Book
Longacre Press, 1961
Viola Bayley: London Adventure
Dent, London, 1962
Gladys Plummer: My Bible Story
Longmans, 1963
John Griffiths: Griff and Tommy and the Golden Image
Dent, London, 1964
Viola Bayley: Italian Adventure
Dent, London, 1964
Viola Bayley: Scottish Adventure
Dent, London, 1965
Viola Bayley: Welsh Adventure
Dent, London, 1966
Gladys Plummer: Long Live the King
Longmans, 1966
Viola Bayley: Austrian Adventure
Dent, London, 1968
OTHER BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY MARCIA LANE FOSTER
Godfrey Winn: A Crown for Hope
National Spastics Society, London, 1956
Peter & Sylvia Duncan: How to be a Better Parent
Evans, London, 1955