Starbucks The Florida Keys mug: Discovery Series
The Florida Keys mug prints THE FLORIDA KEYS on a green circle with a green iguana, conch-style cottages, reef life and long parallel bridges; the back shows a MILE 0 sign, a rooster, a trolley, Fort Jefferson and a queen conch.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- The Florida Keys, Florida, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozStarbucks's Discovery Series launch story calls it the 14-ounce ceramic mug
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The prisoner who became Fort Jefferson's doctor
In 1867 yellow fever came to Fort Jefferson, the island fort in the Dry Tortugas. Between August 18 and November 14 it struck 270 of the 300 men there [9]. Among the first to die was the post surgeon, Maj. Joseph Sim Smith [9]. The doctor who stepped in was a prisoner. Samuel A. Mudd, the physician who had set the broken leg of Lincoln's assassin, had arrived on July 24, 1865, to serve a life term [10][11]. He had already tried to flee by hiding in a moored ship, and spent time in the dungeon for it [11][12]. Now he worked day and night beside Dr. Daniel Whitehurst of Key West [9]. The fever killed 38 people [9]. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, a lieutenant who survived under Mudd's care sent President Andrew Johnson a petition signed by 299 other officers and soldiers [13]. Johnson pardoned Mudd in 1869 [12]. The six-sided fort on the back of the mug (12) is the one he could not leave.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1THE FLORIDA KEYS
The place name is printed in light green capitals on three lines inside a dark green circle in the middle of the front.
- 2Purple flower with large leaves
A dark purple and lilac flower with five petals sits at the top left of the green circle, framed by lilac, pale blue and yellow-green leaves. The drawing is too stylised to name the plant. The mug doesn't name it.
- 3Two wooden cottages that look like Key West conch houses
A purple two-storey house with a balustraded front porch and steps stands beside a lime-green cottage with shutters and a porch, between palm trees. Full-width front porches on wooden houses are the mark of the conch house style that developed in Key West, so these resemble conch houses, but no particular house can be identified. The mug doesn't name them.[7]
- 4Green iguana
A bright green lizard with a lilac throat and legs, a row of spikes along the back and a long banded tail climbs across the right of the front, with a small maroon shape at its raised front foot. The spikes running down the neck, back and tail match the green iguana, a non-native lizard found in South Florida including Monroe County, which covers the Keys. The mug doesn't name it.[2]
- 5Long parallel bridges that may be the Seven Mile Bridge
Two long, straight bridges with saw-tooth piers, one purple and one green, run side by side diagonally over the water between small yellow-green islands, with seagulls drawn as small curves. Old and new bridges side by side may match the Seven Mile Bridge near Marathon, but other Overseas Highway crossings also have an old bridge next to the new one, so the identification is not certain. The mug doesn't name it.[5]
- 6Coral, sponge and sea anemones
Below the green circle sit a ruffled yellow-green coral, a maroon mound covered in dots, a lilac rounded shape topped with a fringe of tentacles, and pale blue seaweed. The drawing does not show enough detail to name the species. The mug doesn't name them.
- 7Tropical fish
A yellow-green fish and several small lilac fish swim at the lower left of the front, and a blurred figure at the far left edge of the photo, a yellow-green body with lilac trailing shapes, is too indistinct to identify. The drawing is too small and stylised to name the species.
- 8Starfish and shells
A lilac starfish, round shells and small pebbles lie on a lilac strip of sea floor along the bottom of the front.
- 9MILE 0 Back view
A teal sign printed MILE over a large 0 in white stands at the top left of the back. Key West's green and white Mile Marker 0 sign marks the end of the Overseas Highway; the drawing's colours are simplified, and the mug prints only the words MILE 0.[8]
- 10Rooster, likely one of Key West's free-roaming chickens Back view
A large crowing rooster with a red comb, yellow-green neck feathers, a purple body and a lilac tail stands on top of the fort. Key West is known for chickens let loose on the island that now roam its streets, which is the likely reason for the bird, but the mug doesn't say so.[6]
- 11Open-sided sightseeing trolley Back view
A long maroon trolley with a green roof line and open windows full of passengers runs along the left of the back. The colours do not match one specific tour operator, so it is left unnamed.
- 12Fort Jefferson Back view
A six-sided fort seen from above, with maroon walls, a pale blue outer ring and a green parade ground, sits on a yellow-green island; to its right a yellow-green pier reaches out, with a small white boat seen from above moored beside it and a maroon rectangle below. The six-sided outline, the surrounding moat wall and the island setting match Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. The mug doesn't name it.[3][4]
- 13Queen conch Back view
A large spiral shell in yellow-green with a flared maroon and lilac lip, with two green eye stalks reaching out from under it. The flared, pink-to-purple lip matches the queen conch, which lives in seagrass beds around the Florida Keys. The mug doesn't name it.[1]
- 14Sun, clouds and a sailboat over the sea Back view
A yellow sun with long rays sits low over turquoise water with a small purple sailboat, under maroon and lilac clouds, with palm trees at the right edge. No particular beach or harbour can be identified.
- 15Vendor cart with hats Back view
A pale blue cart on spoked wheels, with a purple scalloped roof, displays straw and striped hats on its shelves. The drawing does not tie it to a specific market.
The photos do not show the bottom of the mug, and the strip of drawing under the handle and past the right edge of the back photo is not seen, so the full wrap is not covered. The inside is purple at the rim; nothing else of the inside is visible.
Collector notes
- This is the Discovery Series mug that prints THE FLORIDA KEYS. The Been There Series also has a The Florida Keys mug with the same place name in a different series and art style, so check the box or the base for the series name; the Discovery Series Florida mug is a separate, state-wide design.
- Only two views are held, a front in the box and a back on a table: the drawing behind the handle and between the vendor cart and the front is not shown in our photos, so ask a seller for those sides before buying.
Before you buy
Our two photos show the front and the back only: the bottom and the strip of drawing behind the handle are not seen, so ask the seller for those sides. The inside is purple at the rim. The Been There Series also makes a The Florida Keys mug in a different art style, and the Discovery Series Florida mug is a separate state-wide design, so check the box or base for the series name.
Other The Florida Keys mugs
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Queen Conch (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
- Green Iguana (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
- Fort Jefferson, Florida (Wikipedia)
- Fort Jefferson (National Park Service)
- Seven Mile Bridge (Florida Keys and Key West, visitfloridakeys.com)
- Feral chickens rule the roost in Key West (CBS News)
- Conch house (Wikipedia)
- Keys History: Mile Marker 0 (Florida Keys Weekly)
- Fort Jefferson National Monument, Florida (National Park Service booklet, Project Gutenberg)
- Dry Tortugas was a Part of American History (National Park Service)
- Fort Jefferson and Doctor Mudd (The Regional Review, NPS, December 1940)
- Dr. Mudd's Cell (National Park Service)
- The Imprisoned Doctor Who Helped Fight an Epidemic (National Parks Conservation Association)
