Among this documentation I particularly noticed the attached, which is a written statement from Mr. Dali, confirming that his signature on lithographs stamped with the number "5" on the back is genuine.

You've probably seen this written statement before, but just to be sure, I'll make a short translation:

"New York 1978. I certify, that all illustrations from the "Sacra Biblia" book, made by me and published by "The Rizzoli House - Milano" and marked with this number "5" is signed by my hand with pencil. New York 1978. Salvador Dali".

[Yes, we have seen this letter before. The German police also have 27 such letters, all signed the same way, all attesting to the fact that various pieces were genuine and by Salvador Dalí. However, like other letters of this nature, this one is full of simple French grammatical errors which Dalí would never have made and has other inconsistencies that makes it suspicious as to its authenticity. - Editor]

The email conversation is very long. Most of this is probably not relevant in this case, but you’ll find a lot of information from Mr. Bill Smith, that you might be able to use in other cases.

One of the main arguments concerned the alleged certification of the lithograph with the red stamp “5” on the back of the piece. Mr. Bill Smith confirms that the written statement about this applies to both works:

"Both of these works are included in the collection I sent you the documentation on".

And: "The number "5" that is mentioned in the documents refers to a red stamp that was placed on the back of each of the loose sheets that Dali hand-signed. This was done by Mr. Mastella as a security feature. You would see this on the back of the work you originally collected if it was unframed".

[Interestingly enough, there is a stamped "5" on another couple of prints allegedly from the same collection, sold by Park West, but they are BLACK, not RED as stated here. Someone needs to get their stories straight. - Editor]

You can call me naive, but Mr. Bill Smith actually succeeded in convincing me that the lithograph was genuine as well as the signature on it. At that point I was well aware that I had not made a good deal, but it was still "a real Dali", which was OK in regards to the fact that I couldn't get my money back. I never checked the red stamped "5" though.

I finally received the Filius Prodigus piece on May 9th 2005, seven months after the original purchase. To my surprise this wasn't the piece I bought. Both my wife and I were sure that the one we bought was annotated "g.a. II/IX". The one we received was annotated "g.a. IV/IX". In the email correspondence you will find that the annotation "g.a. II/IX" was mentioned by me, even before I received the piece. I tried to get an explanation for this by Mr. Bill Smith, but his only response was: "Perhaps the IV looked like an II on the ship".

At this point I didn't have the energy to go into any more debates with Park West Gallery, and I silently accepted the different annotation. I was/am still sure though, that this piece is not the one, that we bought on the ship.

We also received the appraisal. The Appraisal concerns Filius Prodigus, registration number 100617.0010. It has an appraised value of $15,250.

Ignorant of the true facts, the piece Filius Prodigus after this hung on my wall for three years. On September 25th, 2008, I stumbled across an article on the Fine Art Registry website concerning fake Dalis being sold by Park West Gallery.

I immediately checked my Dali piece. After removing the back cover I discovered that this piece did not have the above mentioned stamp. Furthermore I noticed that the Park West registration number was 100617.0002, which to some point proves my allegation, that this was not the piece I bought on Explorer of the Seas.