This has made me think. I hadn't realised the difference that colour makes to something seeming 'real'.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-40523826/the-colourist-changing-the-appearance-of-historical-photos
I'd love to be there when whoever is doing the colourizing, they make such a good job of it, I think it's done using the same method that almost everything else is these days, gigs and gigs of computing power.
It's certainly amazing how the colourizing seems to pull forward in time most events recorded on these very old photos and even old black and white films.
I have photos of my three sisters that went through some sort of colouring process by hand they all date from just after WW2, I believe this was all the rage about then, they have stood up to the test of time and still look very good but not as subtle as the pictures are when using this latest process.
The first time I saw this colourising process used was on some 'Laurel and Hardy' films some years back at least 20- 30 years ago.
ippy