The Shop
Carlos A. Santos, a hardware and tools shop, was created in 1936 by three partners: Carlos Augusto Santos, José Xavier dos Santos and Castelo & Diniz Lda. In the beginning, it started selling lead products for plumbing and domestic water supply ( taps, pipes, etc.). Given the high volume of sales of lead goods, it was commonly identified and publicized as Casa do Chumbo (which can even be seen in the shop's advertising and archival documentation). Due to the fact that one of the partners owned a lead foundry, which produced the products sold in the shop, it had a greater diversity and quality of goods than the other shops in the city. The shop also sold its own solder, according to an original formula. Throughout the 20th century it also sold taps that were made by prisoners and more recently taps with its CAS brand.
It is one of the last hardware shops still operating on Rua de São Paulo and the only one to sell plumbing products. An activity and commercial specialty that was predominant in the area, both in commercial spaces and in workshops, and which is now greatly reduced. It produced lead rods, tin solders, laminated tubes, filter taps and plumbing.
