Seattle held its first world's fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), in 1909 on the University of Washington campus. The fair promoted the region's growth and prosperity that had begun with the 1897 arrival of the first shipment of Yukon gold. The Alaska-Yukon Exposition Corporation had been created in 1906, made up of various committees to oversee the work of the exposition. The Corporation's Finance Committee's efforts included raising bonds to help supplement state and local government funding.

The first mortgage for the exposition set out to raise $350,000 with bonds offered at donations of $100, $500, and $1000. Date of bonds were September 1, 1908, with maturity set to October 15, 1909, the day before the exposition closed. This advertisement for the bonds provides detailed information about the financing of the exposition, with estimated revenues and expenses and explanations of ticket prices.

Caption source information: "Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Committees," HistoryLink Essay 8630
Caption source information: "The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition," Seattle Municipal Archives, https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/the-1909-alaska-yukon-pacific-exposition.