Episode 1 of 2

Publication Contract

When: 10 August 1899
Where: Sedalia, Missouri
Part of: Copyright registration of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag

Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark on August 10, 1899, for a royalty of one cent on all sales of the rag.

After approaching several publishers, Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark, a retailer of musical instruments who became his most important publisher. The agreement stipulated a royalty of one cent on all sales, with a minimum sales price of 25 cents.

Sources

Maple Leaf Rag Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
Scott Joplin Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.