The Hobart Bosworth papers span the years 1811-1960 (bulk 1899-1944) and encompass 28.5 linear feet. The papers consist of production files, radio files, stage files, correspondence, subject files, and scrapbooks. The production files cover only a smattering of the many films in which Bosworth acted and/or directed. Among the few films for which there is information are THE IRON HAND (1925), SEA WOLF (1913) and THE WHITE SCAR (1915). The radio files contain scripts for 13 episodes of a series starring Bosworth, as well as scripts for individual appearances. The stage files contain a few scripts, clippings, programs, and some production information for a few of the many roles in which Bosworth appeared on stage. The correspondence files contain mainly family correspondence, but also include personal and professional correspondence. The subject files include contracts, financial files, and publicity clippings. The scrapbooks are extensive and cover Bosworth’s career on stage and in film from 1899 through 1943.

The photograph series of the Hobart Bosworth papers spans the years 1910-1932 and encompasses 2.5 linear feet. The photographs are all motion picture production photographs, and are arranged alphabetically by film title. The collection contains 2,479 photographs from 165 documented films in which Bosworth appeared. There are photographs from 81 documented and seven undocumented Selig Polyscope Company productions from 1911-1913. There is a group of on-location off-camera small prints and snapshots from Bosworth's three Jack London "Alaskan" films: "Burning Daylight," "The Chechako," and "An Odyssey of the North," all from 1914. The earliest films are less well-represented than the films made after 1913.

One additional box of photographs, not fully processed, consists mainly of biographical material relating to Bosworth and photographs from unidentified productions.

Hobart Bosworth (1867-1943) was born in Marietta, Ohio. Bosworth was a pioneer actor/director/producer/writer, who appeared in at least 275 films between 1908 and 1942. In his youth he ran away from home and went to sea as a cabin boy and later a sailor. At 18 he appeared as an actor on the stage. A serious bout with tuberculosis ruined his voice for the stage and required that he live in a relatively warm and dry climate, so he transitioned to a career in film at the Selig Polyscope Company, where he appeared in approximately 128 films between 1908 and 1913. He formed Hobart Bosworth Productions Company in 1913, for which he made films until 1915. The company gained renown for several films based on the books of Jack London, whose works Bosworth greatly admired. After 1915 Bosworth appeared in some 120 films as an actor, working mainly in supporting roles but occasionally as the lead, for such companies as Paramount, Universal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century-Fox, and Columbia, as well as many of the smaller studios whose output was primarily "B" pictures, until his final film appearance in SIN TOWN (1942). His credits include THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1908), THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (1910), THE COMING OF COLUMBUS (1912), THE SEA WOLF (1913), AN ODYSSEY OF THE NORTH (1914), OLIVER TWIST (1916), THE BIG PARADE (1925), ANNIE LAURIE (1927), DU BARRY, WOMAN OF PASSION (1930), DIRIGIBLE (1931), LADY FOR A DAY (1933), and THE CRUSADES (1935).