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PDF Download: Making One-Stringed Fiddles (published 1953, UK)

HISTORIC PLANS REDISCOVERED BY SHANE SPEAL

I have written about one-string cigar box violins, a.k.a. "Vaudeville Fiddles" here in Cigar Box Nation and also my book, Making Poor Man's Guitars. The instrument was a novelty feature used for comedy by skilled players in the first decades of the Twentieth Century by such stars as Larry Fine of the Three Stooges and W. C. Fields.

PICTURED ABOVE: Antique Vaudeville Fiddles on display at the Cigar Box Guitar Museum inside Speal's Tavern, New Alexandria, PA. www.SpealsTavern.com

We've posted similar plans such as the Jazzolin (1920), The Pitchfork 1-String Guitar Patent (1934) and the One-String Cigar Box Violin (1949).

All these plans were published by US sources. The newly discovered plans show that the Vaudeville Fiddle tradition skipped over the Atlantic Ocean by the 1950's and was featured in Practical Mechanics Magazine in 1953.

We have scanned and uploaded these historic plans as PDF files for you to print out and build. Post photos of your completed projects below!

File: Making One String Fiddles - From Practical Mechanics magazine...

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