Hemingway's Pilar 28" Quality Fishing Boat Model

The Pilar was author Ernest Hemingway's prized possession. The 38-foot fishing boat was built by the Wheeler Shipyard in 1934 and was named after a bullfight shrine Hemingway had visited in Zaragoza, Spain. The shrine is prominently mentioned in Hemingway's book "For Whom the Bell Tolls" Pilar is also said to be the nickname of Hemingway's second wife. Hemingway purchased the boat in 1934 for $7,500. Hemingway, an avid sport fisherman, did most of his fishing with Capt. Gregorio Fuentes on the boat. Fuentes was used as the fictional character in Hemingway's classic novel "The Old Man and the Sea." The boat now rests at Hemingway's Finca Vigia estate in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba. The boat originally had a black hull, but it has been painted green while in Cuba