The first stamps of Jamaica were issued in 1860. They had an interesting watermark – a pineapple – symbol of friendship and hospitality in the Caribbean and elsewhere. The stamps’ main design element, like the stamps of most British possessions, was a portrait of Queen Victoria. From 1905 to 1923 many Jamaica stamps were printed on “chalky” paper. A chalk-like substance was applied to the paper, to make removal of the postmark and reuse of the stamp impossible. Jamaica was a British colony until 1962, when it overprinted issues of Queen Elizabeth II “Independence” to mark its transition to an independent state within the British commonwealth.