The Mary Bartol publicity papers span the years 1926-1941 and encompass 15 linear feet. The collection contains story files, subject files, client files, and scrapbooks. The story files contain material written by Mary Bartol and her husband, photographer X. Martin-Smith. The subject files contain correspondence and clippings, publicity for Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures, files with releases for clients. The client files, arranged alphabetically by surname, often include biographies, clippings, correspondence, photo captions, and press releases. Around 50 clients are represented, including Frank Albertson, Earl Blackwell, Lillian Bond, Elsa Buchanan, Paul Kelly, Evalyn Knapp, Fritz Leiber, June Martel, George Murphy, Azadia Newman, Onslow Stevens, Gloria Stuart, and others. There is publicity material for a handful of corporate clients from the 1930s documenting the development of Northridge, the San Fernando Valley Fiesta Horseshow, and Los Angeles restaurants such as the Seven Seas Cafe, the Victor Hugo, and Waikiki. Ten scrapbooks contain publicity clippings on clients.

Mary Bartol was an American film publicist active in Hollywood from the late 1920s until around 1940. Prior to her publicity career, as a magazine writer her byline appears as early as 1926 in "Universal Weekly" and 1928 in "Motion Picture Magazine." She attended the first regular seasonal meeting of the Screen Women's Press Club in the fall of 1930. Bartol worked in the publicity departments of Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, she was in charge of magazine publicity for Universal in 1931 and was working at Columbia by 1934. Beginning around 1934 she operated her own independent PR firm, called "Publicity," in Beverly Hills in partnership with her husband, Xavier Martin-Smith, a Naval officer and photographer. The two were married in 1930. Bartol died in 1945.