"Ages Ago" earned praise from the critics, outran its companion piece, the popular "Cox and Box", and was frequently revived over the next decade. It was Gilbert's and the Gallery's greatest success to that date, running for 350 performances from November 1869 to June 1870. A review in the "Penny Illustrated Paper" described the piece as "a very brilliant, sparkling operetta, full of ingenious fun in the plot and dialogue, and exhibiting a good deal of grace and freshness in the music. ... The piece went off most successfully, a satisfactory proof that extravaganzas written without vulgarity can be relished by the public. The dialogue is smart as well as polished, and contains several hits on current town topics, not one of which misses fire."