File:Kinks Ray Davies Flash.JPG

English: A promotional shot of en:Ray Davies, of en:The Kinks. He is in character as "Mr Flash" (See Weisbard, Eric: This is pop: in search of the elusive at Experience Music Project, ISBN 0674013212, p. 139), from the Preservation series of albums and theatrical works. This work qualifies as PD-PRE1978. It was created around 1974 (See Weisbard for dates of Preservation), and most firmly before 1976. It depicts Ray Davies in costume as a character from Preservation, a project which began in 1973 and ended in 1974 (See Erlewine, Stephen: The Kinks on Allmusic.com). RCA would have promoted the album's release from 1973-74, when both Act 1 and Act 2 were released. This work was most certainly published before 1978, as The Kinks departed from RCA for Arista Records in 1976 (See Erlewine). Note also the "exclusively on RCA," explaining that this was released at the time when The Kinks and Ray Davies were still under contract with the company. See here for original copy, with claim of exclusivity, logo, etc.