Peter Stamelos

Intro

History of the Cigar Box Guitar

Cigars were packed in boxes, crates and barrels as early as 1800, but the small sized boxes that we are familiar with today did not exist prior to around 1840 (Hyman, Tony (1972). Handbook of Cigar Boxes. New York: Arnot Art Museum.). Until then, cigars were shipped in larger crates containing 100 or more per case. After 1840, cigar manufacturers started using smaller, more portable boxes with 20-50 cigars per box.

Trace evidence of cigar box instruments exist from 1840 to the 1860s. The earliest illustrated proof of a cigar box instrument known is an etching of two Civil War Soldiers at a campsite with one playing a cigar box fiddle copyrighted in 1876. The etching was created by illustrator and artist Edwin Forbes who, under the banner of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, worked for the Union Army. The etching was included in Forbes work Life Stories of the Great Army. In the etching, the cigar box fiddle clearly shows the brand ‘Figaro’ on the cigar box.

Work

Since 2015 I practiced and tested various technics of traditional and modern instrument making to achieve the best results for these special instruments. The sound and the playability of the instrument has always been my first goal.

Secondly, the artwork makes the instrument unique and gives character to the piece, so I always try to personalize the artwork to match the owner's taste.

About

The instruments are not for sale. It is a hobby for me, I 've only made custom orders for friends.

Contact

info@stamelos.gr

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Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';