Historical dream account · English · published source text
The Tiny Hands in the Basin
Horace G. Hutchinson
Dreams and Their Meanings (1901) · 1901 edition, chapter IV, printed pp.93–94; PDF pages 105–106; original scan leaves 107–108
Dreamer identified by the source: Unnamed friend of Hutchinson
Read in your language or share a constellation ↗
A striking instance, worth recording for the singularity of the dream itself, as well as its illustrative bearing on this general quality of dreams, occurred within the writer's knowledge. A friend of his, of most calm and philosophical cast of mind, dreaming that he saw his face in a mirror, was surprised to find it covered with grime. On nearer inspection he was yet more startled (with the mild, sub-normal surprise of the dream state) to see that each grime mark had the shape of a tiny handprint, the thumb mark in each print being a little defective. There was a basin handy, in which he washed his face, and the water forthwith became bemudded by the grime which gradually settled to the bottom of the basin, and, as it settled, made itself into the shape of many little hands perfectly formed save that each hand was a little defective by reason of a deformed and stunted thumb.
Source & context
A published personal recollection sent to, or personally recorded by, Horace G. Hutchinson and printed in his 1901 edition. Recurrent personal accounts are counted once, not once per occurrence. Where Hutchinson interrupts a quotation, his original reporting phrases remain in the excerpt. Hutchinson retells a friend’s report in the third person; it is not his own dream.
Unnamed friend of Hutchinson, reported in Horace G. Hutchinson, Dreams and Their Meanings (London, New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green and Co., 1901), 1901 edition, chapter IV, printed pp.93–94; PDF pages 105–106; original scan leaves 107–108. Primary witness: original 1901 edition at Internet Archive. The compiler, dreamer, and separately credited earlier recorder are distinguished. Editorial title and navigation themes added; no generated narrative or new translation.
The publication year is not the dream date. No exact dream date or present-day person location is inferred. Dates printed in the narrative remain source wording.
Public domain in the United States (1901 edition) ↗
The original English 1901 edition is public domain in the United States by expired publication term; Archive metadata reports NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT. No new Archive license or Public Domain Mark grant is asserted. The linked NoC-US statement describes the US-only rights basis; blanket worldwide clearance is not asserted. Hutchinson’s own writing and named or unidentified contributors are distinguished; no contributor is assigned the compiler’s death date. Unnamed original correspondent/friend; no modern contributor identity or permission is invented..
Source locator and text provenance
1901 edition, chapter IV, printed pp.93–94; PDF pages 105–106; original scan leaves 107–108
The original text and redactions are preserved. The page title is an editorial navigation label.
Whitespace/linewrap normalization, witnessed end-of-line dehyphenation, and listed scan-verified OCR repairs only. No dream narrative, person, event, translation or stylistic rewrite added.
- Account text SHA-256
- 29e00b0714b71a69f6d1f2e76184e35a56b5ee342bfa6ac4b358bf2a22f1ff42
- Source file SHA-256
- 40a41bb112104c3680401c260e060fde498bfe84e41f4394ee28e47f7e827b5f
Content notes
- Bodily transformation
Connections in the Loom
Titles, theme labels, illustrations and map connections are editorial navigation aids. They are separate from the account’s words and do not establish connections between real people.