HUMO

Cigar box ukulele by Dave Talsma Terry Horvath (see below)

Cigars were invented over a thousand years ago by inhabitants of the pre-Columbian Americas, who needed a tool that would enable them to irritate people over moderate distances. Cigar box ukuleles contribute to this fine tradition by extending that range.

Humo is a little unusual in that it's made from a tin cigar box, rather than a wooden one (like Sancho).

Humo cigars were made by the Mazer Manufacturing Company of Detroit. Thankfully, this box predates the Yes! Made in Michigan sticker campaign. One of the box panels features helpful renderings of the Mazer Company's buildings in various cities, such as Detroit, Dayton, and Columbus, for the benefit of anyone who happened to be looking for one of the buildings and also happened to have a cigar box conveniently tucked under an armpit, which may have been a common custom of the time, I don't know. I haven't yet researched where people kept their cigars back in the day. You could ask the official distributor of Humo, the Totally Peninsular Cigar Co.

Humo has an electric pickup and steel strings, so it can blast pretty good.

Da cord go in here.

The condition of this particular box suggests that it spent its working life tucked under the armpit of someone who regularly commuted between Dayton and Detroit, on foot.

Humo doubles as a good practice uke, because it has only a few small sound holes, so if it isn't plugged in you're not going to annoy anyone in the next room.
(Note: Right-thinking ukulele players regard this as a drawback at all times.)

Soundwise, it can sound like whatever effects you want to run through your amplifier. It can even have a little bit of a hammer dulcimer sound to it sometimes, which would be unfortunate if you dislike the sound of the hammer dulcimer. I think I will sell Humo, especially since I now have another cigar box (Sancho) and another electric (the Konablaster).

Humo: so manly it takes two to replace it.

This is like one of those fish-eye photos of a dog's face.

Humo now belongs to Karl of Belgium, who writes:

"The uke has landed safely! A very strange thing indeed, but lovely. On a minor note, it's obviously a Terry Horvath one, not a Dave Talsma uke. My second Horvath, I confess, blushing."

Oops. My confusion arose from having bought the ukulele from Dave Talsma.