Boscul Coffee

Importers, packagers, and distributors of coffee and tea, William S. Scull & Company was founded in 1831 by Joab Scull. In 1858 William S. Scull became the head of the company, which traded for many years as William S. Scull & Company. William S. Scull would lead the firm until 1916, when he was succeeded by William C. Scull. R. Barclay Scull was president of Boscul Coffee in Camden until about 1960 when it was sold.

Sometime after 1947 the company changed its name to the Boscul Coffee Company, its most famous brand. In the 1930s the Scull company began packaging peanut butter in floral printed glasses. These glasses have become collectors items.

The Scull Company had a large warehouse and coffee roasting mill at Front & Federal Street in Camden, where it remained in business into the 1970s.

WILLIAM S. SCULL & CO., COFFEES, TEAS AND SPICES, FRONT & FEDERAL STREETS

ONE of the most important and substantial commercial houses in Camden, and the only one in its line, is that of William S. Scull & Co., importers, roasters and packers of Coffee, Tea Dealers and grinders of Spices, located at the corner of Front and Federal streets, with all its capacious offices, mills and storehouses. This large establishment was founded in 1857 by William S. Scull, and has been conducted by the present firm for the past fifteen years. The business is altogether wholesale. The premises occupied have a frontage of 75 feet by a depth of 126 feet. Twenty-five hands are employed in the various departments, and three teams are found necessary in the transaction of the business. The trade lies in the States of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The individual members of the firm are William S. and William C. Scull, who both hold high places in the esteem and confidence of their fellow-citizens. The senior of the firm has been a member of the City Council and is a director of the W. J. and Atlantic R. R., of the Camden Safe Deposit and Trust Co., of the Camden Horse R. R., of the Seventh Nat. Bank of Philadelphia, of the South Jersey Finance Co., of the W. J. Title and Trust Co., of the Camden Fire Association, and of the Camden Electric Light Co.

William S. Scull also had other business interests. Among other things, he sat on the Board of Directors of the West Jersey Title Company and the Camden Heating and Lighting Company.

Popular in the 1950s, Peanut Butter Glasses are among the most popular of Kitchen Collectibles once they are discovered by collectors. They are not universally known as their distribution seems to have been in pockets. One of the most prolific locations to locate Peanut Butter Glasses is in the central Pennsylvania.

The floral motifs are primarily attributed to Boscul Peanut Butter which was manufactured by William S. Scull Company, Inc., Camden, New Jersey. Peanut butter was packaged in lovely, colorful tumblers which were opened via pry-off lids. The contents were consumed and a beautiful glass was added to the household. Having spoken to a number of individuals who remember having Boscul Peanut Butter as a child the overall consensus is that it was delicious. The norm seems to have been for each person in the family to lay claim to a particular tumbler.

One can find Boscul tumblers in three main sizes, but actually there are 4 sizes in all. The small juice glasses are the rarest tumblers of all. There is no documentation at this time to prove that peanut butter actually came in these glasses. These can be found with the names of the flowers both at the top and at the bottom. There are tall iced tea tumblers also with names at the top and bottom. These are the second most difficult tumbler to find. Again, there has been nothing definitive to suggest that these were packaged with edible contents.

Finally, there are the standard drinking glasses. However, the glasses with names at the top are a tad larger than the glasses with names at or near the bottom. These are the easiest to locate and basically the most affordable.

How many Boscul flowers are there? I really don’t know. I gave numbers when publishing Peanut Butter Glasses but these have changed as new tumblers continue to be located. The rarest is considered to be the “Tea Seed” (standard size) but I have seen two, although I have never had one to sell. On the other hand, consider the new additions I am finding and documenting for my (hopefully) second edition of Peanut Butter Glasses. These are mostly one-of-a-kinds. Some of these are currently offered on my website.

Other companies produced decorative glasses with peanut butter. There are Wizard of Oz glasses, transportation tumblers, and more from other companies. But the flowered Boscul glasses continue to be the most popular.

A note about caring for these glasses: These must be washed by hand and cannot be exposed to bleach.