Needham began in 1846 as Carhart & Needham, a New York maker of melodeons and reed organs; Elias P. Needham is credited with the upright organ action used in many parlor organs. As E. P. Needham & Son and later the Needham Piano & Organ Company, it moved into square and upright pianos. Kindler & Collins bought the firm in 1912 and used the name until the Great Depression.