A few months ago, I was at the Leucadia Art Festival. I ran across Smoke Box Bob’s Guitars made from recycled cigar boxes. Not only are they reusable but would make interesting art pieces. According to Bob, cigar box guitars have been around since the Civil War, when they first started packaging cigars in boxers. He is trying to revive the art of the ‘handmade, reused, recycled and re-purposed musical instruments.
Bob offers more than just Guitars- ukuleles, standup basses, wash tub basses, custom wash boards and diddley bow’s are a part of his collection of Green Musical Instruments.
Cigar box guitars are nothing new, but in recent years building them has become a pretty popular hobby. For me they served as a catalyst – an introduction to the underlying idea of building functional instruments out of whatever you have at hand. I’ve spent the last couple years exploring that idea and I recommend it to anyone who likes to craftsmanship and invention. If you’re interested in seeing my work visit http://jugtones.com. Happy building!