Music and cigars aren’t something I usually equate with each other. In fact, cigars are almost the last type of smoke I think of when I turn the dial of the radio. If I hear Ryan Adams, I imagine him on stage surrounded by a grayish cloud, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. If I hear Bing Crosby, I imagine that his "White Christmas" also involves a black pipe. And, if I hear Willie Nelson, I think of a type of smoke sure to make him hungry for some Kenny Rogers Roasters. Cigars, however, don’t typically cross my mind when I think of music.
It turns out this is a misconception on my part: cigars, or rather their boxes, contain some of the true roots of music.
Cigar box guitars are homemade guitars in which used cigar boxes serve as the resonator, echoing the vibrations that cause sound. Used by many poverty-stricken musicians, these instruments forever have a place in the history of song. In fact, cigar box guitars go all the way back to the 19th century.
Before 1840, according to the curator of the National Cigar Museum, Dr. Tony Hyman, cigars were not shipped in boxes but large crates, crates that would hold over 100 cigars at a time. These crates were found to be too big in size for efficient shipping and were eventually reduced into smaller crates that would hold much fewer sticks. And so, the cigar box was born.
About the time cigar boxes emerged, cigar smoking did as well: people from all walks of life indulged, leaving their cigar boxes empty in the process. Picked up by innovators and creators, these empty cigar boxes were quickly turned into guitars, banjos, and fiddles. Unbeknownst at the time, these instruments would soon give those who were too poor to afford a guitar a chance to experiment musically.
Article comments
1 - Gary Korb
J.J.,
Great story! Interesting coincidence, too. I just featured a picture of the Cigar Box Guitars someone sent me for our April Cigar Advisor picture gallery.
As always, keep the great cigar stories coming.
~Gary
2 - Georgio
indepth and interesting history. Thanks
3 - JC Mosquito
Bron of poverty or not, there's a fella in town here that sells 'em at $200 - $300 apiece. They've even got pickups for the busker that wants to be heard above the rest.