Starbucks Queens mug: Discovery Series
The Queens mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the borough name in yellow-green over a dark green circle, with a blue carousel horse, an airliner, a baseball batter, a steel arch bridge and two cats.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Queens, New York, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The carousel that was nearly seventy-six bar stools
In January 1964 the New York Times ran a eulogy for the Feltman carousel at Coney Island, quoting a carousel historian who called it “by far the greatest American carousel” [1]. A businessman and carousel enthusiast, John Rogers, bought most of it for $12,500, and the whole Stubbmann carousel for $25,000. He wanted to preserve them, the National Register nomination says, from “becoming just 76 bar stools” [1]. The World's Fair was about to open in Queens. His company restored the two machines in a hurry and combined them in less than a month, and the carousel was installed at the fair on July 1, 1964 [1][2]. The Stubbmann frame carries 47 of its horses; 24 came from Feltman's [1]. Both machines were made by the carver Marcus Illions, whom some call the Michelangelo of carousel carvers [1]. The real horses are so heavily over-painted, the nomination notes, that their original colors are hidden under layers of paint [1]. The blue one rearing on the Queens mug (2) is a drawing, so it can be any color it likes.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
QUEENS in yellow-green capitals over a dark green circle.
- 2Carousel horse
A blue carousel horse with a yellow mane rears up on its pole at the left of the circle.
- 3Airliner
A blue-and-green airliner flies across the top of the circle.
- 4Baseball batter
A baseball batter in green swings a bat at the right, beside the handle.
- 5Steel arch bridge
A steel arch bridge crosses the water at the base of the circle.
- 6Cats
A yellow cat sits at the lower left, with a dark cat behind it.
- 7Chairs and umbrella
Café chairs, a table and an umbrella stand at the far left.
The photo shows one side of the mug. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.
Collector notes
- The inside of this mug is dark teal, which shows at the rim in the photo.
- Brooklyn, The Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan also have Discovery mugs on our checklists; this one is lettered QUEENS.
Before you buy
Brooklyn, The Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan each have a Discovery mug with the same dark green circle, so confirm that a listing is lettered QUEENS. The inside rim of this one is dark teal.
