Was Liz Stride a Redhead???

[Mrs. Fiddymont]

I've just been reading Paul Roland's book The Crimes of Jack the Ripper, and in discussing possible suspects, he mentions two facts in James Maybrick's alleged diary (which I believe not at all). Presumably these facts, according to Roland, would not have been known by most people at the time: the "fact" that Elizabeth Stride had red hair, and that her throat may have been cut by her own knife.

I know nothing about Stride carrying a knife (tho she may have, for her own protection??), but the news that she was a redhead is certainly news to me! I thought that descriptions given of her in her native Sweden described her as slender, with an oval face, brown hair, and blue eyes.

Now I know a person can change a lot over the years--esp. living the kind of life she did--but if her hair had changed color, I'm thinking it would more likely have gone from brown to gray, rather than brown to red!

Unless her hair actually was some kind of reddish-brown color that different people described differently? Or she may have dyed her hair, of course, but somehow that strikes me as unlikely!

I know this isn't a major deal, but it started me wondering.

Does anyone know whether Liz Stride was a redhead?

[Jane Coram]

Hi,

Liz certainly wasn't a redhead; she had dark brown, curly hair and grey eyes.

We need to be very careful about what information we pick up from Ripper books, as many of them are very flawed, especially some of the older ones. It's always worth double checking things from other sources.

If you stick to the books and articles written by the well-established and respected Ripper writers you can't go far wrong.

Hugs

Janie

xxxx

[caz]

...he mentions two facts in James Maybrick's alleged diary (which I believe not at all). Presumably these facts, according to Roland, would not have been known by most people at the time: the "fact" that Elizabeth Stride had red hair, and that her throat may have been cut by her own knife.

Hi Mrs. F,

In addition to what the lovely Janie said, be careful about claims made by others about the 'facts' that supposedly appear in this dreaded diary.

There is no suggestion in the diary that Stride had red hair or that her throat 'may' have been cut by her own knife. (I'll skip the odd use of 'may' here - presumably the real killer writing in his diary would have known if it wasn't his knife. )

Shortly after writing: I would have dearly loved to have cut the head of the damned horse off, the diary author experiments with more lines of doggerel:

Red - head
horse,
cryed
smelt breath

A rose matched the red (crossed out)
I did cut the head (crossed out)
damn it I cried, henceforth I did hide, (crossed out)
The horse went and shied (crossed out)

With a rose to match the red
I tried to cut off the head.
Damn it I cried,
The horse went and shied
But I could still smell her sweet scented breath

The next entry concerns Eddowes, not Stride:

Sir Jim,
tin match box empty
cigarette case (crossed out)
make haste (crossed out)
my shiny knife (crossed out)
the whores knife (crossed out)
first whore no good

A bit later we get references to Eddowes' tea and sugar, so it's pretty clear the 'whores knife' refers to her white handled table knife and not one used for either murder.

And that's it.

No ginger nut or knife for Stride.

Maybe the author was hinting that the horse was a strawberry roan or the doggerel a red setter.

Or maybe, just possibly, it was a subtle hint at the pretty red necklace - in blood. About as subtle as a sledgehammer over a horse's head.

In short, beware false prophets who can't read properly. Do the reading for yourself.

Love,

Caz
X

[YankeeSergeant]

Jane, Caz and all;
Both Evans and Skinner's The Jack the Ripper Ultimate Companion and Paul Begg's Jack the Ripper: the facts describe her as having brown curly hair and grey eyes as does the victims page on Elizabeth Stride> I consulted all three on her description yesterday as I am currently writing the chapter on Stride for my novel. I read Maybrick's diary some years ago and I don't remember that he mentioned Stride's hair colour or the knife but as I said, it has been years. Kindest regards, Neil

[Nino]

lock hair?

Ciao a tutti, I'm new and this is my first attendance!
Regarding to Stride's hair, recently I've found this link to a bit strange swedish website:

http://magiskamuseet.com/a0a71cafb6b34c2a8e4504aee1ca1fb7.html

At last you'll find a photo of a Stride's lock hair (quite red and a bit curly) which, according the site (and google translator), had been cut by Sven Olsson, -it would have been- in the mortuary of St.George in the East where her body stood for a while. Olsson did it to send the lock to her relatives in Sweden ad memoriam...
The website also tell (few words and no references) the lock had been used for seances (probably later the one in Cardiff, it seems) with no good "results" 'cause the spirit of Liz Stride was too confused, melanchonic and aggressive...

Sounds a fake??

I apologize if you have dealt with that before!

[Mrs. Fiddymont]

Welcome, Nino!

The strand of hair on the Swedish website does appear to be red (or reddish), but is there any kind of proof that it actually belonged to Liz Stride? Every description I've ever read describes her as "brown-haired"??

[Tom_Wescott]

Phony as a $3 bill, and whatever the UK equivalent to that is.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Mrs. Fiddymont]

Tom, I think that would be "phony as a 3-pound note".

[Nino]

thief of hair?

Hi Fiddymont!

Exactly, phony like -I'd say- a €3 bill! There's absolutely nor reference nor evidence!!
Nevertheless, the "novel" of Sven Olsson who cut a lock for a family so far sounds good to me. Clear, just a literary taste!
Sven Olsson knew Liz Stride for a long time and up to the end. When in trouble, so many times Liz asked help from the Swedish paris in London (i.e. Sven) and he was the one recognized with no doubt her body -and identity- in the mortuary of St.George.
In her last days too, Liz went to the St.George library to read swedish press, where she met Sven which gave a book of hymns to her.
We could admit that Sven Olsson was an accountable witness of her dramas, lending money and -I suppose, they were countrymen in a foreign country- some suggestions to turn over a falling down fate after the "Princess Alice" and -why not?- the failure with Kidney. Sven met, and he knew it, an unlucky woman in need of help. Perhaps he grew fond of her but that's a banal supposition.

Question:
Could he have cut a lock of Liz's hair for someone?? Standing in St.George (near the mortuary), presumibly he had opportunity to do it, maybe a reason too. So, Sven knew the address of a relative of hers? certainly Liz spoke with him, lies or not.
In that case (even to argue), the lock could be authentic and Liz was brown or reddish. A new page for ripperelogy but, without a reference to check, this is just Fantaripperology..

However, odd to find a photo of "Liz hair"!!!

[C. F. Leon]

Actually, except for albinos or other loss of pigment such as aging (and assuming no artificial interference), the pigment in human scalp hair is reddish. Hold an individual strand to a light, and it's quite noticable, even with the 'deep raven black' of an Oriental (Chinese, Japanese, etc). Blonds have less pigment, brunettes have more.

That aside, what was the technology available in 1888 England for hair-dying? I'll bet that whatever it was, it was SPENDY and too much for people desperate for doss money or just food to just toss away. Of course, Human Vanity being what it is and always has been, I wouldn't be surprised. Liz certainly didn't just find that flower growing in the curb strip.


-- CF Leon

[SarahLee]

That aside, what was the technology available in 1888 England for hair-dying? I'll bet that whatever it was, it was SPENDY and too much for people desperate for doss money or just food to just toss away. Of course, Human Vanity being what it is and always has been, I wouldn't be surprised. Liz certainly didn't just find that flower growing in the curb strip.


-- CF Leon

Hi CF,

I'm sure somebody who knows more than me will be along soon to answer, but I think that henna would almost certainly have been an option for changing hair colour in the LVP - as you said I suspect that it would have been expensive though.

There are other very inexpensive home remedies for temporary hair tinting that I think would have been known about and accessible to a lot of people though. For example, beetroot juice, carrot juice and rosehip tea can all be used as a hair rinse to give a reddish tone . . . not sure that they would have taken too well on Liz's dark brown hair though.

[curious4]

Liz/hair

Hello CF,

Eddowes was described as having auburn hair, so I think that Liz would have been described as such if she had been a redhead. The majority of Swedes are blonde as children and turn darker in adulthood. Although a good few women stay blonde with a little help.

Best wishes,
C4