only extant copy; sole surviving copy
Used for a book or manuscript of which no other copies are known to exist. Often encountered in bibliographic or antiquarian contexts.
This library holds the only extant copy in the world.
Standard kanji spelling for this term.
Compound of 孤 (ko, 'alone, solitary') and 本 (hon, 'book'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally used in bibliographic contexts.