Cass Pianos

The N. D. Cass company of Athol, Massachusetts made toys from 1896 right through to the 1990s when their warehouse burned to the ground in 1996.

Here are some Casspinette pianos that I've found on Ebay recently.

This one failed to reach it's reserve price and didn't sell.

This one, which is far nicer, sold for US $35.75 (£19).

This one came with it's bench and sold for just US $26.

And finally this funky red and black one sold for only US $10.50

 

It seems that not much is known about these pianos and this company, so if you own one then I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment.

Comments

[Ranie Jordan, North Charleston, SC]

Hi!
My mom purchased a used Casspinette Toy Piano for my young son about a year ago. She bought it used at a yard sale for $15, I think. It's in pretty good condition. The light oak-colored veneer is intact, except for a narrow strip missing just above the keys. The rest of the wood is intact, but slightly worn. It's obviously been well-loved because all the screw holes are slightly welled out. It had its stool, too! The company name is in the UPPER right hand corner, above the keys. (I emphasized the upper part because I noticed that the other pictures I've seen all had the company name in the LOWER right-hand corner, directly above the keys.) The sound's not too bad,either. I have no idea how old this piano is and am having trouble finding ANY information about these pianos online. Thank you for sharing what you know. I hope my comments are helpful... Have a great day!! :o)

[Ranie]

This link tells a little about the fire at the N.D.Cass factory...

http://home.tiac.net/~rflaford/cass.htm

[Squeezyboy]

Thanks for the link Ranie.

[Melissa]

We just purchased a decent Casspinet for $15 at "Court Day" in Preston, Ky. [This 100 year old annual flea market is named such because it takes place on the weekend of the traditional date for the Fall district court, when all the people would come out of the mountains to meet and trade wares, garden surplus, etc. before winter.]
Anyway - paid $15 for the little piano for our 2 year old. A couple of keys were stuck, fixable, but the sound is really great. Ours has a "rosewood" finish with the Cassspinet name printed in gold in the center of the wooden backplate. Would love to know more about them myself.

[Pete]

I found your site while researching toy pianos. My mother's parents lived in Athol, so I was intrigued to learn of N.D. Cass Toy, and did a little digging. Mostly I found obituaries of former Cass employees, but I did manage to figure out when the company really closed...

Although they did lose a warehouse to arson in 1996, Cass remained open until December of 2003 - but according to the below, they shifted from toys to children's furniture (and dollhouse furniture) in the 1960's.

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WO&p_theme=wo&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10224E1C033EECDA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

Oddly, the remaining Cass building burned down in 2005
http://www.atholdailynews.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=9705&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1

[Amy Smith]

I have one mine is green in color I can't remember where I got it ....I have it in my loft I surprised these don't sell for much more.

[Squeezyboy]

Yes, it is a bit surprising - I agree.

[Rob]

I was given a toy piano in its original box. The name is spelled "Casspinet"...it looks old and needs a few keys. I have no further info on it. I would appreciate if anyone could provide more info on these pianos

[Jessica Friend]

I have an Casspinette piano that has been in my family since 1971 with my sister. It has been passed down to my two year old. My father said that he found the piano in the dump in 1971 and refinished it for my sister. I was wondering how to tell exactly how hold it was and see the value.