This teapot is a souvenir of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909. It publicized the development of the Pacific Northwest and positioned Seattle as a gateway to Alaska and the Pacific Rim. The teapot is decorated with the official AYPE emblem, designed by Adelaide Hanscom Leeson (1876-1932). One of the many published AYPE guides explained the emblem in detail: "The figure on the right under the fir tree represents the Pacific Slope, holding in her hand a train of cars, typifying Commerce by land. That on the left, shaded by the dwarf tree of Japan, represents the Orient, controlling Commerce by sea. In the center, with a background of the Northern Lights, is the figure representing Alaska, bearing a double-handful of gold nuggets, signifying the untold wealth of the North, meeting half way the commerce of the East and West, and supplying the wealth for both." The teapot was made in England for Seattle department store The Bon Marché.