La Dolce Vita is a Taiwanese stationery brand by illustrator Bofa Huang, known for soft, expressive portraits of girls in everyday moments. With gentle watercolor tones and signature red blushes on cheeks, elbows, and knees, each illustration captures quiet resilience, self-kindness, and the beauty of simply being. Rooted in the belief that every girl is already enough, La Dolce Vita invites you to embrace each day—ordinary or extraordinary—as part of la dolce vita, the sweet life.
The true beginnings of the bookplate are somewhat lost to history, but scholars generally trace its emergence back to 15th-century Germany. At that time, printing technology had only recently made its way from China to Europe and was still in its early stages—far from the efficiency needed for mass production. Books were rare and costly possessions, typically found only in monasteries or the private libraries of royalty and nobility. Even within these privileged circles, theft was not uncommon—books would go missing, borrowed without return, or taken outright.
To protect their prized collections, noble families began creating visual markers of ownership. They would carve their family crests into wooden blocks, apply ink or paint, and press the designs onto paper. Alongside the image, they often included the Latin phrase "Ex Libris", meaning "from the library of", to clearly indicate ownership. This paper label, known in English as a bookplate, was then pasted inside the front of the book—usually on the title page or endpapers—as a declaration that the book belonged to a particular person or family.
Over time, bookplates became more than just practical identifiers; they evolved into tiny works of art. While many used them simply to mark their books, others began collecting bookplates themselves, cherishing them for their history, design, and connection to readers from generations past.
Includes 8 Ex Libris stickers (2pc x 4 designs) printed on art paper.
Size: 6 x 8 cm
