Cigar box guitars originated in the USA during the depression era, when poor people made their own instruments out of junk. They used an empty cigar box for a resonator. Many examples do not have frets and were played fretless or with a slide. Some have only 1 or 2 strings.

This page at www.cigarboxguitars.com shows you how to make your own three string guitar out of a cigar box and various other bits and pieces. If you dig a bit deeper on this great website you can find instructions on how to make a pickup and an amplifier for your cigar box guitar.

The hall of fame page is an impressive list of guitarists past and present.