A Brief Publishing History
The Hardbacks
The originals
The Jill books were all published originally by Hodder and Stoughton, and were illustrated by Caney. All the hardbacks were reprinted several times. I have seen that some first editions have different coloured boards: for example, I have seen copies of Jill’s Pony Trek in first editions with green boards, and with buff. This, I presume, is because the printer was using up board stock. As far as I know, reprints were not abridged or altered. In America, Jill’s Gymkhana was published by Dodd Mead in 1950 as A Horse of Her Own; this I think because gymkhana was not a term known in America.
Foyle’s Children’s Book Club
Foyle’s Children’s Book Club printed A Stable for Jill. I haven’t yet seen any other Ruby Ferguson titles produced by them, so assume this is the only one. The internal illustrations are by Caney, and it and the text seems to be the same as the original Hodder printing.
The Hampton Library
Hodder reprinted the whole series as hardbacks in a cheaper and smaller hardback edition, The Hampton Library series. This version has red borders to the title area of some titles, and some minor alterations in the text, but otherwise they are as the originals. Unfortunately, as they were intended to be a cheaper way for children to collect the stories, they were printed on inferior paper stock, and it is hard to find the Hampton Library editions without browned pages.
Hodder Laminated Boards
The last reprint in hardback was in the 1970s. These versions have photographic laminated boards, and as far as I know, none of the original illustrations. The titles I have seen have frontispieces by Elisabeth Grant.
The Paperbacks
Armada
Armada, the children’s paperback division of Collins, were the first publishers of Jill in paperback. Armada initially printed the books with the original Caney covers, recolouring the backgrounds in some cases. They used several different cover illustrators, including Peter Archer and Mary Gernat. Although Armada did print all the titles; some of them in two different versions, they did not, as far as I know, do a full set by any cover illustrator. I thought I did once see on Ebay some years ago, Caney covers of Stable, Two Ponies and Pony Jobs, I’ve never seen copies since, so either these were extremely rare survivals, or my imagination!
Armada used the full text for all their printings: again, as far as I know.
Knight
Knight, the paperback division of the original publishers Hodder, presumably realised that they were missing a trick, as they then took over the publication of Jill in paperback. They commissioned another illustrator, Bonar Dunlop, to illustrate some of the books. Black Boy, Jill’s first pony, mysteriously became a piebald in these editions. Whether this was because Bonar Dunlop drew him like that and the books were changed to suit, or whether it was the other way round, I do not know. Not content with this, Knight renamed Black Boy in their earliest printing of Jill’s Gymkhana when he became Danny Boy. Ruby Ferguson had died by the time these editions appeared so was not around to object. Some titles were left with the Caney illustrations, and some alas lost all illustrations. As far as I know, the first Knight printings had the original text, but all printings from the 1970s on were slightly abridged.
Knight originally published the series with covers by Bonar Dunlop in the late 1960s but then commissioned W D Underwood to produce the rather ditsy covers of the 1970s printings (but despite not liking these covers particularly, they take me back instantly to my childhood. These editions are the ones I read.) Black Boy is Black Boy again in this version of Jill’s Gymkhana.
Nearly all printings since the 1980s have had photographic covers. The text however
was left pretty much the same (although abridged) until the 1993 edition when it
was decided that Jill needed updating. The 1993 (Black Horseshoe) edition also dropped
all the illustrations. These were only ever present in five titles: four certainly
had no illustrations by the W D Underwood version. These were: Jill Enjoys Her
Ponies (Jill and the Runaway), Pony Jobs for Jill (Challenges for Jill); Rosettes
for Jill and Jill’s Pony Trek.
Hodder
The later 1990s printings have illustrated covers again. They’re not the most successful cover art I’ve ever seen. Jill’s Gymkhana is by Adrian Lascom, as is A Stable for Jill and Jill Has Two Ponies. Whether the full series was issued in this edition I do not yet know.
Fidra
Fidra Books have acquired the rights to the Jill books, and the first title is now published. Their versions have the full original text and illustrations, but photographic covers.
