In his late 70s, Albert Costa spent 10 days in a coma after a massive heart attack. When he woke up, one thing was clear: he would sell his life’s collection of books.
There was a catch, however. Costa’s bookshop would not sell its products at their market value, but at a price he personally felt they were truly worth.
Now 83, Costa trained first as an engineer and then as an anthropologist. He spent much of his life travelling around Africa and the Pacific acquiring artefacts for museums. He also became a compulsive book collector.
What he did not want was for them to end up in a flea market where “no one knows the value of what is in them and they sell them all for one euro”.
The solution was to open Espíritus del Agua (water spirits) in Gràcia, Barcelona, and stock it with his private collection of works on anthropology, art, philosophy and travel, as well as fiction.
The tiny shop, crammed from floor to ceiling with books, takes its name from an exhibition about Inuit art that Costa helped organise in 2000 for Fundació La Caixa, the cultural organisation linked to one of Spain’s largest banks.
“I sell books but it’s a business that barely pays the overheads,” he says. “I enjoy it because it’s a new career. But rather than sell them all to a library, I like people to come and look and then we can come to an agreement.” …
I’m 55 and we have 30,000+ books. I should get started, too.