Tove Jansson painted several wall murals in her lifetime, including the stunning “Party in the City” (1947) for the Kaupunginkellari restaurant at Helsinki City Hall. She added herself into the picture, seated at the table in the foreground. Looking carefully, and you see a small Moomin visible beside her glass. The dark beauty on the dance floor is Tove's then love, the theatre director Vivica Bandler (1917-2004) of Svenska Teatern. The secret relationship between Vivica Bandler and Tove Jansson inspired the characters Thingumy and Bob. The connection is even more clear in the original Swedish names Tofslan and Vifslan, which where nicknames Tove and Vivica would sometimes call each other. Thingumy and Bob's precious gem stone the King's Ruby can be read as symbolising the precious love between Tove and Vivica.
