1955 Great Smoky Mountains View Gatlinburg TN Postcard

About This Vintage Postcard

The sweeping vista from Newfound Gap offers a quiet moment of reflection, looking out over the layered ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains toward the distant peak of Mt. LeConte. This scene captures the timeless, hazy blue that gives these mountains their name, a view that has greeted travelers for decades with the same sense of wonder and enduring stillness. It is a preserved piece of a journey taken long ago, held in the soft colors of a mid-century afternoon.

Detail

Era: Chrome 1950s (1955)
City: Gatlinburg
State: Tennessee
Country: United States of America
Topics: National Parks, Mountains, Nature, Landscapes, Mountains, Balsam Point, Cliff Top, High Point, Myrtle Point, Scenic Views,  Great Smokey Mountains, Landscapes, Mt. LeConte
Artist/Photographer: Walter Cline Jr.
Condition: Uncirculated (Includes handwritten date "Oct 16, '56" but no postmark or stamp)
Orientation: Horizontal (Landscape)
Publisher: W. M. Cline Co., Chattanooga, Tennessee / Printed by Koppel Color Card Co

Additional Information

This postcard is part of the "Color-King" series produced by the W. M. Cline Company. The business was established in 1938 by Walter Matson Cline Jr. (1914–1984) to expand upon the photographic legacy of his father, Walter Cline Sr. (1873–1941). While the elder Cline was famous for his early 20th-century real photo postcards, this specific 1955-copyrighted "Chrome" view represents the mid-century work of Walter Cline Jr. and his team. The handwritten date on the back indicates it was purchased as a souvenir in October 1956, making it a true artifact of the post-war American travel boom in the Smokies.