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.
13. Castle Street
Colourised picture of Castle Street in 1905, looking towards the Royal Hotel where the Castle Market later stood,. Picture taken from Sheffield Since 1900. Photo: Sheffield newpapers
14. Blitz canteen
Colourised picture shows a mobile canteen in operation after the Sheffield Blitz in 1940 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
16. Darnall
One of the best known parades in Sheffield was the Darnall Medical Aid parade, seen here near the Wellingtron Inn in the 1930s Photo: Sheffield Newspapers