But surely he didn't mean that the Teleri had blue hair...... :)

It's very interesting that in pre-LR writing, Tolkien was happy to assign 'ethnic' descriptions to the Edain and the 'swarthy' Easterlings, but not to the Elves (or Dwarves). I can't find anything in the QS/Later Annals/Lhammas writings that can be read as anything but a vaguest stretch assigning physical characteristics to Lindar/Noldor/Lembi.

There is however one passage which might I suppose be read as a "dog that didn't bark." In QS Sec 130 T describes the Houses of Men, and the Beorians "were dark or brown of hair; their eyes were grey, and their faces fair to look upon; shapely they were of form, yet hardy and long-enduring. Their height was no greater than the Elves of that day, and they were most like to the Gnomes, for they were eager of mind, cunning-handed, swift of understanding, long in memory."

That "for" is interesting; because it seems that the comparison to the Noldor here is based entirely on the Beorians' habits of mind, not their coloration.

PS: FWIW, in the QS text of Beren and Luthien, Celegorn expressly has golden hair, so "the fair" in his case really does mean "blonde."

I'm guessing no blue hair too :D

And good notice about Celegorm the fair. As I say my current guess is only a guess regarding BAN- and WAN- but maybe CFH can shed some light...

... anyway I was hoping you might comment on JDR raising the revision to Appendix F, raising it as, it seems, a third leg of the suggestion that perhaps the Noldor were originally golden-haired. I get the two 'gold-elf' references in this context, not that they necessarily refer to hair, but at least I understand the suggestion. But I'm not sure I quite understand bringing up the matter of Appendix F as a third part of this particular theory (originally golden haired Noldor).

But perhaps I am missing JDR's meaning here?