Maple Leaf Rag to its publication, Joplin anticipated that the piece would be a success—he told Arthur Marshall that "The Maple Leaf will make me the king of ragtime composers". The exact circumstances which led to publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" are unknown, and there are versions of the event which contradict each other. After approaching several publishers, Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark on August 10, 1899 for a $0.01 royalty on all sales of the rag, with a minimum sales price of $0.25. The "Maple Leaf Rag" was published between August 10 and September 20, 1899, when the
Maple Leaf Rag time. "Gladiolus Rag", a later composition by Joplin, is a developed variant of the "Maple Leaf Rag," showcasing Joplin's increasing musical sophistication, and is usually played at a somewhat slower tempo. In addition, the first strain of Joplin's "The Cascades," "Leola," and "Sugar Cane" are modeled on the structure used in the composition. In 1903 Stark issued a "Maple Leaf Rag Song", an arrangement of Joplin's music with words by Sydney Brown. Brown's lyrics tell the story of a poor man from Accomack County, Virginia, who stumbles into a ballroom where, in spite of his anxiety over the state of