Stamps of the British West Indies

Grouped together in this article is a brief overview of stamps of Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands, the latter groups having been dependent either politically or philatelically on Jamaica at various times in their history.

Ordinary British stamps were used in Jamaica between 1858 and 1859 and can only be distinguished by the numeral obliterators A01 or A27 to A78. An independent postal administration was established in 1859 and adopted distinctive, adhesive stamps in the following year. In the interim, Jamaica reverted to the use of handstruck marks to indicate prepayment of postage. De La Rue typographed a series from one penny to one shilling with a pineapple watermark. Subsequent printings were produced on paper with the standard colonial watermarks.

Initially, Jamaica tried to brighten up the appearance of its stamps by using pictorial motifs. De La Rue printed a one-penny stamp in 1900 using a single working plate. The stamp was done in recess and coloured red. Separate frame and vignette plates were used the following year to print a bicoloured version. The stamp depicts Llandovery Falls. The pictorial concept was not, however, developed till after World War I. The series following the pictorial penny showed the colonial coat of arms.

Controversy arose in 1968 when a series of three stamps was prepared in honour of Human Rights Year. The local stamp advisory service raised strong objections and, consequently, an entirely new series had to be produced. A few of the unadopted stamps were circulated in the philatelic press but were never actually issued for postal service. The three designs featured a bowl of grain (3d), an abacus (1s) and hands in prayer (3s).

The Turks and Caicos Islands have had a varied political career. Colonized by Bermuda, governed by the Bahamas, they became a separate administration under Jamaican protection in 1848, and then progressed to the status of an independent crown colony in 1866. A postal administration was established and the following year, distinctive stamps in denominations of 1d, 6d and 1s were introduced. The bulk of the population resided in the Caicos Islands but it was not until 1900 that stamps giving the full name of the group of islands were issued. Because of economic depression, the islands lost their crown colony status in 1873 and reverted to being a dependency on Jamaica.

The Cayman Islands used the stamps of Jamaica until 1901, when stamps were introduced portraying Queen Victoria or Edward VII. All issues up until 1921 were the De La Rue keyplate design common throughout the British colonies. A set of three stamps was released in October 1968 to mark the Olympic Games in Mexico. The stamps depicted long jumping (1s), high jumping (1s3d) and pole vaulting (2s).