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While browsing through a box of 78's at a local thrift store, I found a Paramount record. I usually pass these up, but noticed the artist was Ethel Waters, so I bought it. After looking at the label more closely, it looked like a typical Paramount label, but the area between the spindle hole and the top of the label was taken up with a small representation of the Black Swan label.. did Paramount buy the Black Swan blanks and re-release them?

I dont know if this will help, but you may be able to find your title (and perhaps matrix number) referenced it both the Black Swan & Paramount listings here??

http://www.78discography.com/

This reply may show up twice. Sorry about that. Anyway, thanks for the great resource. I was able to find my Ethel Waters record at the Paramount site, but not at the Black Swan site. So... I still want to know, why did Paramount put a smaller version of the Black Swan label on this record?

Yes, Paramount did re-release Black Swan records. Here's a link from Paramountshome.org to the 1924 Paramount/Black Swan catalog: http://paramountshome.org/articles/1924 ... atalog.pdf

On the final page of the pdf file (pg. 29 in the original catalog) the merger of the firms is announced.

Congradulations on a great find!

Cheers,
Mike

I don't know about the label, but this article would suggest that Paramount reissued the later masters
http://www.mainspringpress.com/nyrl.html

From the pages of Rust's AMERICAN RECORD LABEL BOOK....

Under BLACK SWAN: '....business had fallen off to such an extent that no records were announced to the trade after July 1923, and in April 1924 the Black Swan catalog was merged with Paramount. A block of numbers in the Paramount Race series (from 12100 to 12189) was allocated to such Black Swan issues as were still currently available, and the design of the Paramount label was adapted to include a special reference to Black Swan, even including its trademark and the original catalog number, as well as its new Paramount number.'

Thank you very much Viva-Tonal! That certainly answered my question.