Actually, yes, they did. This is why, for decades, photographers collected pieces of red, green, yellow, and blue glass, gel filters, and polarizers to put in front of or between their lenses, seeking ways to increase or mute contrast as desired. Ansel Adams' zone system of photography was all about understanding how to get colors into different zones of grey.
Actually, I know, which is why I said that :)
Actually, yeah! One example of this is the set of the Adams Family, which famously had a ton of pinks and bright pastels despite being a supposedly gothic set specifically because those colors created the best contrast in the final medium, a black and white tv set :)