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Originally Posted by Thinlómien
And the Gondorians - I picture them at least relatively dark-haired. That would only make sense, because some of them have (even little) Númenórean blood in them and Númenóreans are dark-haired. Also the natives of Gondor - or at least some of them - are described as rather dark in various places: some parts of LotR and in Peoples of ME. Also, Gondor is in south, so if ME's climate resembles that of our world's, it would be only natural that most of the inhabitants would have brown or black hair unless they have moved there from further north.
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But were the Númenoreans originally all dark-haired themselves? I know this is Tolkien's predominant conception, at least in regards to the Faithful in Middle-Earth, but we are told that the majority of the original Númenoreans were from the House of Hador--which is always associated with fairer hair. We know this because we are told of a Bëorian minority in western Númenor, and we are also (if memory serves) told that the House of Haleth was the least populous and most decimated by the time of Númenor's settlement.
It follows, therefore, that even if the Númenoreans weren't totally blond, there would have been a high proportion of those who should have been.
Of course, the placement of the Bëorians in Númenor has me wondering if the Faithful were predominantly Bëorian in ancestry, and thus predominantly dark-haired. All the same, it may be that the dark hair prevalent in Gondor and Arnor is more a result of the indigenous populations than the incoming Númenoreans. In Arnor, there were Edainic tribes, possibly/probably more closely related to the House of Bëor, as well as the Breemen/Dunlending/relatives of the House of Haleth of the Minihiriath. And in Gondor the indigenous tribes appear to have been related to the Men of the Mountains, and so of the same racial stock as the Dunlendings.
And, except for the House of Hador and their kin (mainly the Rohirrim), all the above are said to be dark haired. Well, the Houses of Bëor and Haleth are, and the Dunlendings and various relatives are akin to the Halethrim, so it seems a safe assumption.