Starbucks Texas mug: Discovery Series
The Texas mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets TEXAS in red capitals over a green circle, with a pair of longhorns, a blue cowboy boot, a red cowboy hat, a barbecue smoker, an armadillo, a guitar and an orange rose; the inside is dark blue.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Texas, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The fire that cost Texas three million acres of Panhandle
On 9 November 1881 fire destroyed the old Texas Capitol in Austin [1]. The state needed a new one and had one thing to pay with: three million acres of Panhandle land, set aside under the Constitution of 1876 [2]. It advertised for a contractor who would build the Capitol in exchange for the land [3]. The state received only two bids. Mathias Schnell of Illinois won, then passed three-fourths of the job to a Chicago firm [4][5]. The finished building cost $3,744,630.60, and the state paid about $500,000 of it [6]. The syndicate behind the firm had no use for a vast empty plain, so it founded the XIT Ranch to run cattle until the acres could be sold [7]. A hundred years later, that land had a tax valuation of almost $7 billion [8]. The blue domed building under the gold star on the Texas mug (13) may be that Capitol.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
TEXAS in red capitals over a green circle.
- 2Longhorns
A yellow pair of longhorns spreads across the circle below the lettering.
- 3Cowboy boot
A tall blue cowboy boot with red stars and a yellow pull strap stands at the left.
- 4Cowboy hat
A red cowboy hat with a yellow star sits at the upper right.
- 5Orange rose
An orange and yellow rose with dark leaves sits at the top of the circle.
- 6Barbecue smoker
A blue smoker with sausages and meat on its grill puffs steam at the base of the circle.
- 7Armadillo
A blue armadillo walks across the top of the guitar at the right.
- 8Guitar
A red electric guitar lies at the lower right.
- 9Rodeo arena arch Side view
A dark arch with white stars stands over a wooden fence and fall-coloured trees on the left of this view.
- 10Rider with a lasso Side view
A rider in a red shirt and blue hat gallops a dark horse with a red mane, a yellow lasso looping overhead.
- 11Football and red snake Side view
A football with yellow laces sits beside a coiled red snake with a forked tongue.
- 12Red horseshoe Side view
A red horseshoe hangs at the far left, above a blue hill.
- 13Capitol-style dome Back view
A blue building with columns and a dome stands between orange trees, under a gold star.
- 14Gold star Back view
A large yellow star with a white centre floats above the domed building.
- 15Prickly pear cactus Back view
A blue cactus with flat pads and orange spots rises over the hills.
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 blue, which shows at the rim in the photo.
- The boot at the left and the armadillo with the guitar at the right frame the lettering, so the face is busier than most Discovery mugs.
Before you buy
The photo shows one side of this mug, and the inside is dark blue. Texas also appears in the Been There series (two entries) and the You Are Here series, so check the series name before you order.
Other Texas mugs
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Texas State Historical Association, XIT Ranch
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
- Texas State Historical Association, XIT Ranch
- Texas State Historical Association, Capitol
