| Summary: | Excerpted essay from PIPEX 2008: the 67th Pacific International Philatelic Exposition. The essay describes the commemorative stamps and cancellations created for the A.Y.P.E. on pages 18 and 19 of the PIPEX 2008 pamphlet. 2 pages, 22 cm, illustrated. Page 18 — By Larry Mann PIPEX 2008 is at Seattle Center, on the site of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Although it was held 46 years ago, many buildings from the fair— including the Space Needle— still exist and are reminders of this event. Many of us attending PIPEX are probably old enough to re-member— and may have attended— this fair. It is safe to say that none of us are old enough to remember Seattle’s first world’s fair in 1909. Next year marks the centennial of this fair, the Alaska- Yukon- Pacific Exposition ( AYP), which celebrated Seattle’s ties to Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, developed during the 1897- 98 Alaska Gold Rush, when Seattle prospered as a source of supply and transport for miners. The exposition also celebrated the city’s ambitions as a port with connections throughout the Pacific region. The exposition was held from June 1 to October 16, 1909, with buildings spread over today’s University of Washington campus. Some of these buildings still survive as a permanent part of the campus. A two- cent red commemorative was issued to celebrate the fair. It pictures William H. Seward, the US Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. The stamp came in two types, a perforated 12 version issued on opening day, and an imperforated version issued 12 days later on June 13. The imperforate version was issued to allow private companies to apply their own coil perforations for use in vending machines. 1909- 2009 Alaska- Yukon- Pacific Exposition PIPEX 2008 Page 19 Several different cancellations celebrated the fair. The above ma-chine cancel was used during 1908- 09 to advertise the fair. It was pro-duced by the International Postal Supply Company, who created similar cancels to advertise the 1904 St. Louis, 1905 ...
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