DIE BLAUE BLUME

“It is not the treasures” said he to himself, “that have awakened in me such unutterable longings. Far from me is all avarice; but I long to behold the blue flower. It is constantly in my mind, and I can think and compose of nothing else. I have never been in such a mood. It seems as if I had hitherto been dreaming, or slumbering into another world; for in the world, in which hitherto I have lived, who would trouble himself about a flower?”

 

 

Scene no 96: Heinrich von Ofterdingen as a Teutonic Knight (Lineol toys, composition figures) standing in front of the mystical Blue Flower (KSD, Everlands, flowers and plants, Winter sky). Behind the flower petals, Mathilde, daughter of the poet Klingsohr, prays (Elastolin toys, modified Nativity figure).

The text: From the novel “Heinrich von Ofterdingen” by Novalis.

SWINGING LONDON

 

«London was where youth culture finally cemented its hold on all forms of expression, and made itself loudly and exuberantly known. 

Youth, once something to endure, transformed in the span of a few years of British sensations into a valuable form of currency, the front of taste and fashion, the only age, seemingly, that mattered»

 

 

 

Scene no 95: Young boys are playing music and singing inside their car (AA toys, The Idols, Zinging! Swinging! On the Monkee-Mobile, made in Greece), and young girls are getting ready to dance (Louis Marx toys, Teenage Cuties, made in Gt. Britain, and s&ε toys, Mechanical Twist Dancer with box, made in Japan).

The text: From the book READY, STEADY, GO! by Shawn Levy.

CRUSADER

«We’re marching, we’re marching to a land far from home

No one can say who’ll return

For Christendom’s sake, we’ll take our revenge

On the pagans from out the east

We Christians are coming, with swords held on high

Unite by faith and the cause

The Saracen heathen will soon taste our steel

Our standards will rise ’cross the land»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 94: Mounted Templar Knights (Timpo plastic figures) gallop in front of the gate of Jerusalem (Elastolin toys) and among the large bushes (Elastolin toys).

The lyrics: From the song Crusader, by the NWOBHM band SAXON.

WORLD CUP 2026 FINAL

 

SPAIN meet ARGENTINA in New York Jersey on 19 July.

 

 

 

 

Scene no 93: The black-clad referee (Starlux toy figure) stands between the two teams and prepares for the final game (Subbuteo table football toys, Terrace Set C 142, Crowd Figures C 168,  Match Balls C 127,  Lightweight version teams of Argentina 457 and Spain 63791).

The announcement: From FIFA World Cup 2026 final: All you need to know.

UNDEVELOPED SPIRIT

 

 «…We leave Africa, not to mention it again. For it is not historical part of the World; it has no movement or development to exhibit... What we properly understand by Africa, is the Unhistorical, Undeveloped Spirit, still involved in the conditions of mere nature, and which had to be presented here only as on the threshold of the World’s History.»

 

Scene no 92: African warriors (Cherilea Toys) dance in front of the Vodun shrine (Unknown manufacturer), where they communicate with their ancestors and deities.

The text: From The Philosophy of History, by Georg Hegel.

SKY-RIDER OF THE SPACEWAYS!

«Issue No. 4,

wherein the gleaming alien journeys to Asgard to battle Thor,

represents yet another apex of Marvel art – for a second issue in a row.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 91: The mighty Thor (Diamond Select Toys, Marvel Premiere Collection, Resin statue no 561 of 3000) against the Silver Surfer (TOY BIZ, Marvel Legends Action Figure, Series V, 39 points of articulation). Recreation of the famous cover of comic book THE SILVER SURFER No. 4 (Pencils, John Buscema; inks, Sal Buscema; February 1969).

The text: From The Marvel Age of Comics 1961-1978, by Roy Thomas.

ROBERT E. LEE

«A nation which 

does not remember what it was yesterday

does not know where it is today.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 90: The overall commander of the Confederate States Army (COMANSI toys, Legendary personages of The Wild West, hand painted figurines, ref. 19500) and the General Lee 1969 Dodge Charger car from the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (NOREV toys, Charger, 1:43 Metal).

The quote: Famous statement of Robert E. Lee.