Rob,
Your masterful transcription of GWT's "That Rat Proof Rag" would have brought a big smile to Mike's face. I know it did to mine. Mike's date of 1918 is historically correct, being based on the monthly roll release bulletins published by the Wurlitzer Company. TRPR was issued on Wurlitzer 10-tune roll No. 20289 as the 7th selection. The roll was first announced in the April 1918 Wurlitzer bulletin. The roll is a cornucopia of rare ragtime, as shown by the title line-up:
"Wurlitzer 65N Player Piano-20 Piece Frame No. 20289 ""Blue Rag Roll"""
Prohibition Blues WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 1 Sweet, Al
Clarinet Blues r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 2 Fagan, Fred M.
Reflection Rag r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 3 Joplin, Scott
Texas Blues r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 4 Copeland, Les
Regretful Blues r2 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 5 Hess, Cliff
Old Maid Blues r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 6 Guion, David W.
That Rat Proof Rag WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 7 Thomas, George W.
Rigamarole Rag r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 8 Kendall, Edwin F.
Arabian Rag r1 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 9 Gould, George
Some Loving Man
(You Bet) j2 WURL 65N-20Piece 20289 10 Narcisse, Al
I'm attaching several midi recordings from this and other rolls which bear on George Thomas' ragtime. These include the Wurlitzer arrangement (20289-7) and the Kimball roll of Thomas' prototypical boogie piece "The Rocks," which contains TRPR as interlude section. At some point years ago I attempted a reconstruction of this piece based on the Kimball roll interludes, and that's attached as well.
There are other pieces of George Thomas' ragtime which survive as interlude sections in the Kimball song rolls. These rolls were all commissioned by Thomas personally, who sold them out of his music shop once he was established in Chicago. I doubt they were distributed elsewhere, except perhaps at legendary places like the Rialto Music Shop and Original Home Of Jazz. Those attached all feature original and memorable interludes, all no doubt taken from Thomas' ragtime pieces which were not published in sheet music form. "I've Got A Man Of My Own" deserves mention, as it's the piece of sheet music on the piano in front of poor Hersal Thomas, from the wonderful photo of him with brother George which you included with your transcription.
As to whether "That Rat Proof Rag" was ever published as a design sheet cover issue, well from what I've learned about the man he was much like Clarence Williams. A driven, business-minded individual determined on his own success. TRPR was advertised for sale on the back cover of one of his published tunes, and personally I'll bet he had copies printed for sale. Whether anybody ever bought one is another matter. But Thomas sold out of his shop and by mail order, advertising in all the Black trade and variety papers of the day. Some Thomas (or Thomas related) tunes thought to only exist in copyright deposit have come to light in the last 20 years ("Crawfish Rag" is an example). However, I can state that unfortunately "That Rat Proof Rag" was not copyrighted by Thomas in any form. There is no manuscript nor published sheet music to be found at the Library Of Congress. But knowing the power of an enterprising and creative mind, I encourage collectors to find that missing sheet. It's out there.
So with thanks to you, Rob, and an eternal debt of gratitude to my late, dearest and best friend Mike Montgomery, here are some examples of George W. Thomas' New Orleans ragtime.
All Best,
Frank
That Rat Proof Rag (George W. Thomas) - WURL 20289-7.mid
That Rat Proof Rag (George W. Thomas) - arr from KI roll interludes by FLH.mid
Rocks, The (George W. Thomas) - KI 10287.mid
I've Got A Man Of My Own (George W. Thomas) - KI 10338.mid
I Ain't No Sheik, Just Sweet Papa That's All (George W. Thomas & Tom Scott) - KI 10385.mid
Leaving Me Daddy, Is Hard To Do (George W. Thomas and Vera Hinton) - KI 10516.mid
That Bull Frog Rag (George W. Thomas) - KI 7203.mid