Rudolph Bergin began building pianos at 263 West 51st Street, New York City, in about 1860. Bergin was a member (and trustee) of the New York Piano-Forte Company, a co-operatively owned company that subsequently became the A.H. Gale Piano Company. By 1870, the firm had grown and expanded to a larger factory at 409 West 51st Street. Rudolph Bergin built very well made instruments, mostly of the square grand variety. There is no mention of his firm after about 1880.