It may have been taken from individual themes or a central piece that stayed with the composer until he felt the desire to publish it. Berlin also suggests a plausible possibility that Antoinette was constructed from a portion of A Guest of Honor. Joplin's admiration for Washington's focus of forwarding the black cause through education is strongly reflected as the backbone of Treemonisha as well. Washington to the White House to meet and dine with President Theodore Roosevelt, something that left southern whites feeling disenfranchised, and creating quite a regional controversy. Music historian Ed Berlin, in his definitive scholarly book on Joplin, King of Ragtime, suggests the possibility that the opera concerned the legendary 1901 visit of Booker T. The disposition of the score has been disputed, including some recent claims that it was in one or another person's posession, or that Joplin had left it in a trunk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (or was it Pittsburg, Kansas). There were mentions in documents of record during the early 1900s that Joplin had been working on an opera called A Guest of Honor, dated around 1902. While most people who know about Scott Joplin are certainly aware of his magnificent opera Treemonisha, few are aware that he may have written or sketched out at least one or more earlier attempts. I have interpreted parts of the highly melodic C section with contrasting dynamics and a bit of rubato in places. Will Rossiter of Chicago was likely ecstatic to have such name recognition associated with his company. It should be also noted that this was one of the rags not published by John Stark, as it was offered during a period of cooler relations between the two. The interlude in the C section, while not clearly a full-fledged section itself, is still a complete 16 bars in length, and utilizes classical development techniques in a sophisticated manner. The use of repeated phrases starting on off beats results in more interesting accumulative phrases.

The pattern of repeated bass octaves is present throughout the piece, providing continuity. Eugenia is one of Joplin's better examples of 'coloring outside of the lines.' In spite of his use of the common cakewalk/march pattern of a repeated interlude in the C section, this rag transcends many old ideas. However, after some examination of the piece it became evident that the two plants bookending the cover were of the Eugenia variety, and since that is consistent with the flora-based names of many other Joplin rags, it is likely the basis for having named this one. Louis, rather than a woman (both naming methods a common practice) that was some two blocks behind Tom Turpin's Rosebud Cafe according to a 1904 map.

Some sources suggest this piece to have been named for a street in St.

Notoriety rag player piano