Miscellaneous Photographs

A collection of photographs from across the years, showing a variety handmade instruments and the people who played them. Thanks to John McNair of Red Dog Guitars for allowing us to repost many of these photos. John has spent years collecting historic images of homemade and handmade instruments, and we are honored that he has agreed to let us host them here.

World War I Photos of Homemade Instruments

Here is a collection of photos from the World War I era (1914-1919 or so). Most of them are from Europe, and show soldiers on both sides of the fight who have formed impromptu bands, which include at least a couple of homemade/handmade instruments. In addition to box guitars and other oddities, a favorite of the time appear to be longer-scale cello-like instruments, having a tin can resonators (Hugo informs us this is likely a “Vozembouch”, a traditional Czech instrument – see comments below).