Starbucks Boston mug: Discovery Series
The Boston mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the city name in yellow-green over a dark green circle, with a shamrock, a red lighthouse, a lobster and a columned building. Layer cake, red-brick houses, a sailboat, a NEWBURY ST sign and a conductor fill the other sides.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The keeper who drowned two years after Boston Light was lit
On 3 November 1718, George Worthylake, the first keeper of Boston Light, drowned with his wife, a daughter, a friend and an enslaved man named Shadwell [1]. Their small boat capsized as they rowed to Little Brewster. Worthylake had lit the tower two years earlier, at £50 a year [1]. A second keeper, Robert Sanders, took the job and drowned only a few days later [2]. Benjamin Franklin wrote a ballad about the drowning. According to Franklin, it sold wonderfully, the event being recent [3]. The tower fared no better in war: in June 1776, as the last British troops left Boston, they blew it up, and Massachusetts did not rebuild it until 1783 [4]. The red lighthouse at the left of the BOSTON lettering on the mug (3) may be Boston Light.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
BOSTON in yellow-green capitals over a dark green circle.
- 2Shamrock
A yellow-green shamrock with a red stem sits at the top of the circle.
- 3Red lighthouse
A red lighthouse stands on a blue-roofed base at the left of the lettering.
- 4Columned building
A building with tall columns and a triangular roof stands at the upper right, beside a blue tree.
- 5Lobster
A large red lobster lies across the lower part of the circle.
- 6Baseball and glove
A baseball with red stitching rests in a blue mitt at the lower left.
- 7Layered cake Side view
A slice of layered cake with a dark red topping sits on a blue stand, with another slice floating above it.
- 8Red-brick houses Side view
Red-brick houses with white windows and a green steeple stand along the top of the side.
- 9Sailboat Side view
A red-sailed sailboat with a green hull crosses blue water at the lower right of the side.
- 10River with boats Side view
Small boats cross a blue river lined with trees and a pale bridge.
- 11NEWBURY ST sign Back view
A brown street sign reading NEWBURY ST is mounted on a blue lamp post.
- 12Conductor Back view
A conductor in a red tailcoat raises a baton beside a music stand, with music notes in the air.
- 13Arched building Back view
A long building with rows of arched windows stands below the sign.
- 14Circular garden Back view
A round garden in green wedges, with red fire hydrants, sits at the right of the back.
The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The area behind the handle is out of view.
Collector notes
- Boston University, Cambridge, Cape Cod and Massachusetts also have Discovery Series mugs on our checklists; this one is lettered BOSTON.
- The lobster and the lighthouse are on the front, the red-brick houses and the sailboat on the side, and the NEWBURY ST sign and the conductor on the back.
Before you buy
The photos show the front, one side and the back, and the area behind the handle is out of view, so check the listing for the rim and inside. Boston also appears in the Been There, You Are Here, Icon and Relief series; this one is the Discovery Series mug lettered BOSTON.
