This plate 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. It 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."