Joplin composed the work which propelled him to international fame as "King of the Ragtime Composers" in Sedalia, Missouri where he appeared as solo musician at the 'Maple Leaf Club' in the late 1890s. The work was an instant success to such an extent that both Joplin and his publisher soon moved to St. Louis. Richard W, Sargeant Jr.'s brilliant new orchestration of the perennial classic is presented here in the convenient format pioneered by Serenissima in their study score series. IMSLP page Wikipedia article