Scandinavian Holmes
By Don Hobbs

Here in North America, we have the Great White North. Oh, Canada, home of the Bootmakers of Toronto and their excellent journal Canadian Holmes. I was nearly there last week, as I found myself in Forks, Washington. Driving through Port Angeles, on the northern most part of U.S.101, I could look across the water and see Victoria, British Columbia. Lucky for me it was a clear day because when I left, it was snowing which added credibility to the term "The Great White North".

Europe has it's own Great White North, Scandinavia. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are as far north as Canada and just as rich of Sherlockian history. I have been receiving an incredible amount of help from these wonderful northern Europeans with my efforts to complete my bibliography of all translations of the Canon, especially from Denmark and Sweden.

Recently I added many new Danish entries to The Galactic Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to the help of Bjarne Nielsen, I have scans of many of the earliest Danish translations. He also sent me a box of more than forty books that were gratefully added to my personal collection. Work on such a project will never be complete but thanks to the help of Sherlockians like Bjarne, it will never be unpleasant either.

I have also recruited the help of Mattias Boström of The Baskerville Hall Club of Sweden. When I discovered Tradera, a Swedish Online Auction site, it Mattias who stepped up and offered his assistance navigating the site and winning every auction I have asked of him. I suspect he has won more than a dozen auctions for me and doing so, he has help fill in many gaps in my Swedish section in The Galactic Sherlock Holmes. 

Using Ted Bergman's excellent bibliography of Swedish translations of the Canon, I continue to find books I did not know I needed. I contacted Ted and sent him a copy of the GSH. Today, I received a series of emails from Ted with scans of even more books and the offer to help me correct the errors that occur within the Swedish section. Once again, I accept this offer with open arms. The Sherlockians of Europe's Great White North have come forth with an enthusiasm I could have only dreamt of. I should not be so surprised however because they accepted the Master early on. There is a deep and rich history between Scandinavia and certain person named Sigerson. I tip my deerstalker to the Sherlockians of Denmark and Sweden. Thanks for all of your help.

Happy Collecting!!

p.s. Shown below are just a couple of the great cover scan recently sent to my by Mr. Ted Bergman.