They were taken when colour film was either rare of unheard of.
But we have used technology to inject new colour into iconic pictures of the city dating back from the early 20th century, and into the 1960s, showing new, colourised versions of some famous black and white images of the city.
They range from dramatic pictures of the Sheffield Blitz during World War Two, to the Beatles at City Hall.
The idea is to make them look a little more like the world people really saw at the time.
We did this by putting archive pictures, many taken from The Star’s 1988 book, Sheffield since 1900, through a modern computer program, designed to bring them to life with colour.
The results? Some are stunning. Browse through our gallery and see what you think.
5. Tram
Colourised picture of an early Sheffield tram, in the early 1900s. Picture from Sheffield Since 1900 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
6. The Moor
The AI colouristion can been seen on the buses on this picture of The Moor in 1960, but Sheffield buses were not known for their red detail. Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
7. Sheffield City Battalion
This picture of the Sheffield City battalion training at Redmires Camp during World War One has been colourised from the original black and white. Pcture from Sheffield Since 1900 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
8. Attercliffe Road
This colourised picture of a tram under Attercliffe Road railway drab makes Sheffield look grey in the late 1920s. PIcture from Sheffield Since 1900 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers