LOST JOPLIN RAGS

[fred...@bringbackroute66.com]

I just finished reading Ed Berlin's excellent classic "The King of
Ragtime" from 1994. In the final chapter he discussed unpublished
manuscripts in Joplin's estate. He mentioned that at one point, Rudi
Blesh even saw some of the manuscripts including "Pretty Pansy Rag" but
he didn't copy them.

I was wondering, has any of this music turned up since the book was
published in 1994?

Regards,
Fred M. Cain

[lowjo...@yahoo.com]

Hi Fred,

To my knowledge, the rags have not been found. I believe there was a
story that the manuscripts that Blesh went through ended up with Wilbur
Sweatman's widow. Follow ups on that have not turned up anything. A
few years ago now, Reginald Robinson deciphered a manuscript page that
was featured in a photo of Joplin's piano. Perhaps that was a portion
of one of the missing pieces. We don't know.

So make sure you go through those old manuscripts in the antique
stores!

Paul Johnson

[fred...@gmail.com]

It has now been about ten years since we last discussed this.

Has anything new turned up?

Regards,
Fred M. cain