The history of cinema is a tapestry woven with black and white masterpieces long before color film was even a glimmer in the eye of the film industry. Though it may be hard to believe today, for reasons both economic and moralistic, images in color were considered out of proportion, eccentric, almost obscene.

As such, until the mid-1930s, cinema was a realm where all, from costumes to sets, was crafted with black and white in mind. The dyeing of garments in black was a Herculean task, and yet it was the preferred shade of the so-called togati–professors, jurists, and the wealthiest echelon of the bourgeoisie.