Article of agreement between Scott Joplin and John Stark & Son for the publication of the Maple leaf rag : typescript signed with manuscript additions.

Hailed as the King of Ragtime after the publication of his best-selling Maple Leaf Rag in 1899, Scott Joplin was promoted as America's answer to Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). After decades of neglect, he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his opera Treemonisha.
The contract for Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag between Joplin and his publisher, John Stark, is a rare document that sheds light on a pivotal moment in Joplin's career. Discovered in Stark family records in 1975, the contract reveals the business deal made between a Black composer and a white businessman, in Sedalia, Missouri in 1899. The contract granted Joplin a one-cent royalty for each copy sold, a relatively fair rate at the time. This provided Joplin with an ongoing income from the piece, at times earning around $600 per year, a significant sum compared to the $25-$50 composers often received when selling rights outright. While not altruistic, Stark's willingness to sign such a contract recognized the value of Joplin's talent. The contract also stipulated the piece would retail for 25 cents minimum, evidence of Stark's aim to market ragtime as "high class" music. The commercial success of "Maple Leaf Rag" propelled Joplin's career and popularity of ragtime more broadly. Very few documents bearing Joplin's handwriting survive. The Morgan also holds several of the early editions of Maple Leaf Rag published by John Stark.