The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes of the city. The fire started in a paint and woodwork shop at Front and Madison and swept southward across 100 acres of Seattle's business district and waterfront. The inferno completely consumed the business district's wooden buildings, and it gutted the newer brick buildings. After the fire subsided, residents picked up mementos from the ashes. This cup and saucer were found in the remains of the Mark Ten Suie store on Second Avenue. Mark Ten Suie was a Chinese American merchant working in Seattle in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Born in China around 1861, he immigrated to the US around 1872, arriving in the Seattle area around 1876. Just before the fire in 1888, his name was on multiple businesses, including the Mark Ten Suie Co., the Mark Ten Suie & Long Co., and Mark Ten Suie Bazaar. He primarily sold imports from Japan and China.