A black bear cub clings to the trunk of a large, rough-barked tree, peering around it toward the camera against a plain blue sky. The card's own caption identifies it as a bear cub in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a park established in 1934 along the North Carolina–Tennessee border where black bears became a well-known roadside attraction for tourists. The humorous caption plays on the cub's apparent pose for the photographer.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Dear Elaine,
We are in
Canada among the
apple & peach orchards.
Having a very wonderful
trip as you can see
by this card of Niagara
Falls. It has been
raining here.
We ar[illegible]
Linen-textured stock with visible crosshatch grain; image runs to the edge with no white border; small chip at lower right corner.
Postmark: ST. THOMAS 22 19 VII 56 ONT. — divided-back linen-era card (1950s), 2¢ Jefferson stamp, boxed "8 CENTS DUE" handstamp, light edge wear.
Cite this card
Black bear cub in a tree, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/black-bear-cub-in-a-tree-great-smoky-mountains-national-park. Accessed October 24, 2026.
