Von Herder Airguns Ltd. is the oldest Sherlock Holmes society in the German-speaking world named after one of the few German characters in the Canon. Von Herder was the blind German mechanic who built a special airgun for Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemy Professor Moriarty.

For fans and researchers the VHA is the ideal medium of keeping in personal touch with other Sherlock Holmes fans and to obtain the latest news of the great master detective.

The VHA was founded in 1988 in Northern Germany. Its main publication is the SOFT-NOSED BULLET-IN a biannual journal for the friends of Sherlock Holmes which presents a lot of fun and information on more than 60 pages (generally in German), e.g. details about new books, films and backround stories.

THE STRIKING (T)RIFFLES is a two-monthly newsletter that gives the latest news and information on Sherlock Holmes at rather short notice, such as TV and radio programmes, new books, or Sherlock Holmes events. The TST is available in German only.

The VHA also celebrates an official annual meeting in order to support personal contact among its members. Discussions, film screenings, and common activities make up an important part of it. Apart from this, there are smaller regional meetings, too.

The electronic TST is the VHA internet mailing list that informs VHA members even faster than the paper TST of all the available news on the great detective. If you want to subscribe to the newsletter which is mainly in German or it you wish to join the VHA, send a mail to: