The Shop
Sá da Costa Bookstore was founded in the former Largo do Poço Novo (now Largo Dr. António Sousa Macedo) on June 10, 1913, by the firm Augusto Sá da Costa, Lda. (from the Sá da Costa family). The person responsible for the bookstore was Augusto Sá da Costa, who had previously worked with the former bookseller Augusto Aníbal de Avelar Machado, whose store was located at Rua do Poço dos Negros, 19-21, and remained open to the public until 2016. On June 10, 1943, the bookstore inaugurated its new premises at Rua Garrett, 100, in the presence of the then-President of the Republic, General Óscar Carmona, where it remains to this day.
Following the founder’s death in 1960, the bookstore’s management was taken over by his eldest son, Augusto de Macedo Sá da Costa, an economist associated with the foundation and direction of the Portuguese Mathematical Society.
From the 1990s onwards, with changes in the book and publishing industry, Sá da Costa Bookstore went through a turbulent period. It closed for a few months in 2008, reopening in October of the same year as part of a publishing project by the Agostinho Fernandes Foundation. António Luís Macedo Sá da Costa, the youngest son of Augusto Sá da Costa, was then appointed Public Relations Director of the bookstore.
The foundation’s project did not succeed, and the bookstore and publisher eventually closed in 2013, reopening in 2014. While the company remains the same, the founder family is no longer running the business. Presenting itself today as one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in the country, distinguished by its varied collection, where it is possible to find rare literary works and even unique copies, among which statues, african masks, paintings, photographs, and old postcards, globes, maps, drawings, and many other curious objects create a unique atmosphere." The mezzanine, formerly used as office space, has been converted into a café and gallery hosting artistic and cultural activities.
Sá da Costa Bookstore is one of Lisbon's oldest bookstores and was also an important publisher of national authors from its foundation until the 1990s. It is one of Chiado’s landmark bookstores, contributing to the commercial and cultural diversity of this area of the city.
Most of the books are from portuguese authors or from national publishers; some (in Portuguese or foreign languages) focused on the history and culture of Portugal, revealing the store’s specialization in acquiring and selling items related to Portuguese heritage. Many of the available books are editions from the former Sá da Costa publishing house.
