Starbucks Louisiana mug: Discovery Series
Louisiana's Discovery Series mug shows a crawfish, a pelican, a magnolia-like flower, a steamboat, cypress swamp scenes, an alligator, a Mardi Gras-style float with a tractor, and a tall tower that may be the State Capitol.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Louisiana, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The $5,000 request that became a 450-foot capitol
In January 1930, Huey P. Long went to Louisiana's State Board of Liquidation and asked for $5,000 [6]. The money was to hire the architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth [7]. Long had said he wanted a tower, so the architects took Nebraska's capitol, still under construction, as their model [8]. Construction began on December 16, 1930 [9]. According to the Louisiana House of Representatives, the building stands 450 feet tall, with 34 floors, the tallest capitol in the United States [10]. On September 8, 1935, Long was shot in the hall beside what is now the Speaker's Office [11]. He died on September 10 [12]. The slim green tower beside the alligator's tail on the Louisiana mug (17) may be that building, drawn small.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
LOUISIANA in pink capitals over a dark green circle. The Back view also shows a column of vertical lettering beside the handle, and the sign next to the tractor carries text.
- 2Crawfish
A maroon crawfish with yellow dots and pale blue legs curls over the top of the lettering, claws reaching to the right. The crawfish is Louisiana's state crustacean. The mug doesn't say why it is here.[1]
- 3Large flower that may be a magnolia
A large flower with pink and yellow petals, a dotted center and dark green leaves sits at the upper left of the lettering. It may be a magnolia, Louisiana's state flower, though the state's own description calls that blossom white and this one is not. The mug doesn't name it.[1]
- 4Paddle steamboat with music notes
A pale green and yellow steamboat with flags, a tall stack and a paddle wheel at the stern runs across the top right, with red music notes rising from it. The notes may refer to a steam calliope, as played on the sternwheel steamboat Natchez in New Orleans, but the mug doesn't name the boat.[3]
- 5Cypress tree hung with moss
A tall blue-green tree with a flared base and hanging moss stands at the right of the lettering, with a canoe in front of it. It may be a bald cypress, which is Louisiana's state tree. The mug doesn't name it.[1]
- 6Canoe with two paddlers
Two people in a green canoe paddle at the right, one in a cap and one in a wide-brimmed hat with an arm raised, with a bank of green plants and dark green rounded shapes below. The mug doesn't say where this is.
- 7Small white boat on blue water
A small white boat with a red stripe and red windows floats on blue water below the lettering. Nothing in the drawing shows what the boat is used for.
- 8Sailboat and sun
A small sailboat with a red hull sits under a yellow sun and a pink cloud on the left, in front of the long white bridge (element 20).
- 9Spreading tree hung with bead strands Side view
A wide tree with spreading green branches, purple and blue-green leaf clusters and strings of beads draped across it stands in the middle of this view. It may be a live oak, a tree long treated as a symbol of Louisiana, but the drawing does not settle that. The purple clusters could be leaves or blossoms. A small white birdhouse hangs in the tree.[5]
- 10Parade float with riders Side view
A float decorated with purple, green and yellow scallops and diamonds sits at the base of the tree, with small green figures along the top tier and a yellow-green flower arrangement at its left end. A large jester in a purple-and-green three-point hat, with beads flying from it, sits at the right end of the float. It looks like a Mardi Gras parade float; riders on those floats throw beads to the crowd, and the dotted strands in the air would fit that. The mug doesn't say which parade.[4]
- 11Green tractor with sign Side view
A small green tractor with a driver stands at the right of the float, next to a small sign on a post. It may be pulling the float, but the drawing does not show a hitch.
- 12Fleur-de-lis Side view
A purple fleur-de-lis with a diamond pattern, framed by teal and green curls, rises at the left of this view. It is the same fleur-de-lis as element 15. The mug doesn't say what it stands for.
- 13Boat with large gridded fan Back view
A green boat carrying a row of small passengers has a large windowed or gridded frame at the stern in blue, yellow and purple, with ripples around it. The frame looks like the caged fan of an airboat, the kind used on swamp tours, but the drawing is small and the mug doesn't say. The earlier label 'Riverboat' is not supported.
- 14Alligator Back view
A large green alligator with yellow and lilac spots, an open mouth with teeth and a long dotted tail curls across the lower half of this view. The alligator is Louisiana's state reptile. Its tail curls round to the left edge of the Side view.[1]
- 15Fleur-de-lis and scrolls Back view
A purple fleur-de-lis with green and teal swirled scrolls sits above the alligator's back.
- 16Pelican
At the left edge of the Front view a bird with a long pale pink bill, a yellow head and a teal body stands upright; green feather shapes below it may be its wing. Its long bill matches a pelican, and the Eastern Brown Pelican is Louisiana's state bird. Only part of it is in view because it wraps toward the Side photo.[1]
- 17Tall tower that may be the Louisiana State Capitol Side view
A slender green tower with rows of small windows and a pointed top rises from a low row of buildings next to the alligator's tail, at the left of the Side view and the right of the Back view. It may be the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, an Art Deco tower rather than a domed building. The drawing is small and the mug doesn't name it.[2]
- 18Green dome-shaped lattice (looks like a crown) Side view
At the right edge of the Side view a green dome-shaped shape with a base band, a grid of purple panels and a small yellow-green finial on top sits above a bird with teal feathers. It looks more like a crown than a cage, but the drawing does not say. The mug doesn't name it.
- 19Second tree with a small lilac bird
Beside the handle a second tall blue-green tree with hanging moss has a small lilac bird perched near its top. The photo does not show the bird clearly enough to say what kind it is.
- 20Long white bridge or causeway
A long, low white structure with a railing and posts runs across the water behind the boats, behind the lettering. It may be a causeway or bridge, possibly one of the long spans over Louisiana's lakes, but the mug doesn't name it.
The photos show the Front, Side and Back, which cover most of the wrap; the strip beside the handle and the underside are not shown. Release year, SKU and any retirement status are not confirmed.
Collector notes
- The palette on this mug is pink, yellow-green and teal on a dark green circle.
- The Side and Back photos show a green interior, which shows at the rim.
Before you buy
Louisiana also appears in the Been There series, so check the series name on the base before you buy. The Side and Back photos show a green interior at the rim. The strip beside the handle and the underside are not in the photos.
Other Louisiana mugs
More Discovery Series mugs from Louisiana
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Louisiana House of Representatives, state symbols: state bird
- Visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana State Capitol
- Natchez (steamboat) (Wikipedia)
- Carnival Throws (64 Parishes)
- Louisiana's Old Live Oaks (64 Parishes)
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History (architects)
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History (design model)
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History (construction)
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History (height)
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Capitol History (1935)
- 64 Parishes, Huey P. Long
