David Sutton (Evanston, Illinois-based photographer and cigar box enthusiast) recently published An Obsession with Cigar Box Guitars – a gorgeous soft cover photo book which starts by detailing the history of these hand made instruments:
“From its origins in southern delta cotton fields in the 19th century, the humble handmade cigar box guitar has launched the careers of famous bluesmen, country singers and rock stars. Legends like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Roy Clark, and Jimi Hendrix all rocked on a cigar box guitar at some point in their careers. And when Paul McCartney took the stage at last year’s Hurricane Sandy benefit concert playing Johnny Depp’s four-string cigar box guitar, a defining moment in music history had arrived.”
The book demonstrates that guitars can be made of almost anything and cigar box guitars are very unique and customizable since they can come in any shape, size, color, etc. This is actually Sutton’s second book on Cigar Box guitars, the first was simply titled Cigar Box Guitars and was a How To book on making them.
This book shows 120 examples on the creativity and varieties of cigar box guitars and details what materials were used. This is a really great book to inspire woodworkers, craftsman, and guitar enthusiasts on what unique guitars people have made with cigar boxes, cookie tins, etc. It shows that there are no limits to what you can do with these instruments.
