The colour of her hair

[Joshua Rogan]

Is there any consensus (or even definitive evidence) on what colour hair Kelly had? I've just noticed this press report which seems fairly clear....cue debate.


East London Observer 17th Nov 1888;

"Marie Jeanette Kelly - a woman about 25 years of age - a blonde, of medium height, who was born in Wales, married a collier at sixteen years of age, and, becoming a widow shortly afterwards, led a gay life ever since. "

[Wickerman]

Barnet was sent for, and he at once identified the body as that of Kelly, or "Ginger" as she was called owing to the colour of her hair.
Daily News, Nov. 10, 1888.

[Joshua Rogan]

Thanks Jon! I thought I'd read somewhere that she was known as Ginger, but couldn't find the quote.
The trouble is, ginger is actually a rather broad description that can be applied to most shades of "red" hair. Even an actual ginger root can vary quite widely in shade, depending on variety. If she could be called both ginger and blonde, is strawberry blonde a possibility or is that reading too much into one news report?

Edit: wasn't she also known as Fair Emma?

[Joshua Rogan]

According to the Echo 12th Nov when a reporter spoke to Mrs Carthy of Breezers Hill, she had great hair, but apparently of no noteworthy colour. Blue eyes, though.

"Those who knew her describe her as being a woman of about 25 years of age, 5ft. 7ins. In height, rather stout, with blue eyes, fair complexion, and a very good head of hair. She had two false teeth in the upper jaw. She was known to be leading a gay life in the neighbourhood of Aldgate"

As an interesting aside, John McCarthy said in the Times 10th Nov that;
"The deceased's christian name was Mary Jane, and since her murder I have discovered that she walked the streets in the neighbourhood of Aldgate."

I didn't think these two were related, but they are the only two I've read of that mentioned her frequenting Aldgate....

[richardnunweek]

Hi.
According to McCarthy's son, she was a good looking woman, buxom, and had a fine head of hair, very dark red.
Regards Richard,

[Joshua Rogan]

Thanks Richard! Do you know where I could find the source for McCarthy Jr's observation?

[richardnunweek]

Hi Joshua,
Fiona Kendall-Lane, great granddaughter of Kelly's landlord, said her grandfather [ McCarthy's son] mentioned this.
I should add that after a couple of posts, the said lady left Casebook, because of some remarks made by members , never to return, so my reference was strictly a recollection on my part.
Regards Richard.

[Joshua Rogan]

Thanks Richard, that's probably as close as we can get to an actual eye witness.

[DirectorDave]

Hi Joshua.

My Grandmother (94yo and counting!) told me of a common practice of her and her mother of lightening their hair with Lemon juice. We perhaps think of women dying, bleaching or colouring of hair as a more modern thing but this may account for the differing accounts of Mary's hair colour.

[Joshua Rogan]

Hmmm, good point DD. I can't help thinking that it would take an awful lot of lemons to go from dark red to blonde, mind. But then, if Barnett delivered or hawked fruit then that might not be a problem. And then there's henna, which has been used for millennia to dye hair. So really, for all we know, her natural colour could have been more or less any shade.

[Wickerman]

Well, that puts an end to that thread.....

[Penhalion]

Lemons cannot take really dark hair and turn it blonde. They can take medium to light hair and turn it lighter than it was. Using lemon juice is also very hard on the hair, drying it out and making it look frizzy, especially if you are trying to drastically change the color. With henna it would be possible to take blonde hair and turn it red, but it would be a rather orangey red and you'd still have to pay for whatever you used- lemons or henna. At the poverty level we are looking at here, could MJK have afforded either to color her hair? Henna would definitely be imported and so rather pricey (for a Whitechapel resident) and lemons would hardly be cheap, being a tropical fruit.

I take the varying descriptions of her hair color to mean that it was a reddish blonde and various people emphasized one aspect or another depending on their own observations.

[DirectorDave]

At the poverty level we are looking at here, could MJK have afforded either to color her hair?

She couldnt afford her rent and would try to bum sixpence of acquaintances...but she could still find the money to drink. People have not changed that much and young women even today might skip a meal for beauty products.

Henna would definitely be imported and so rather pricey (for a Whitechapel resident) and lemons would hardly be cheap, being a tropical fruit.

A quarter of Imported Lemons were sold on the London streets alone, the rest sold in shops by the mid-1800's...estimated to be 20 million. This is the time of steamships coming in from every corner of the globe...and fruit markets & Stalls popping up on every other corner...a bag of Lemons a hundred or so years before might have been exotic, but not in the LVP.

[Robert St Devil]

Would peroxide have been available to her?

[Debra A]

Would peroxide have been available to her?

Absolutely. It was very fashionable in the 80's, especially in the US.
Brunettes would go through various red, and eventually yellow stages, using peroxide.