The Henry Hull Papers are a small, fragmentary collection consisting primarily of biographical clippings, theatrical files, and miscellaneous correspondence. There is little personal material here about Hull or his well-known theatrical sisters-in-law.
The BIOGRAPHICAL CLIPPINGS contain interviews with Hull at various stages of his career, miscellaneous references to his work, and a few clippings relating to the careers of Josephine Hull and Margaret Anglin.
The THEATRICAL FILES are arranged chronologically by production date. These files relate to Hull's career on the stage and include prompt books (many of which have been annotated by Hull to reflect his character interpretation and textual revisions) and reviews. There is no information in the papers about Hull's film career except clippings, and the clippings concentrate on a few of the titles from the post-silent film era. Most extensive of the theatrical materials are the files about his performance in the controversial Tobacco Road and in Masque of Kings. Also included are general files of reviews arranged alphabetically by production title and of miscellaneous scripts for plays which appear not to have opened on Broadway. With the reviews is a separate file of clippings and a speech pertaining to Hull's portrayal of Mark Twain on the lecture circuit during the mid-1950s. Miscellaneous photographs received with the papers have been separated to the WCFTR Name and Title Files.
The CORRESPONDENCE is also fragmentary, primarily consisting of contracts and information on his contributions to the war effort during World War II. Of note is a letter from a New York district attorney advising him on the need for additional violence in his portrayal of Jeeter Lester, a brief reference to why he turned to touring with the Twain show, and a letter from Anthony Quinn about his appearance in The Buccaneer.
