You've been pounding the pavement all day and your feet are killing you. Who ya gonna call? Dr. Scholl, of course, the one-brand solution to the nation's corns, blisters and bunions since1904. Because that was a period rampant with pseudo-medical quackery, it is only fair to ask if there was an actual Dr. Scholl? And was he a real doctor?

The answer to both questions is yes.

William Mathias Scholl displayed an early interest in feet. The son of Indiana dairy farmers, he was born into a family of 13 children on June 22, 1882, leaving the farm at 16 to apprentice in a nearby shoemaker's shop. He then moved to Chicago and got a job in a shoe store where he first became cognizant of the large numbers of customers who complained of foot ailments, developing a concern that would become a lifelong obsession.

To prepare himself for his mission, Scholl entered Illinois Medical College — now Loyola University — at which point, between his studies and a night job, he began to experiment with foot remedies. By the time he received his medical degree in 1904 — specializing in podiatry, of course, a degree he would never use — he had invented and patented his first arch support, which he called the Foot-Eazer after hearing someone exclaim, "Say, that's a real foot-easer."

The Foot-Eazer was a great success, encouraging the doctor to manufacture and market it. In 1906, the 24-year-old Scholl incorporated his company, operating at first from a rented storefront cubbyhole with one employee where they made personally fitted arch supports. Scholl went on to hold more than 300 patents for foot treatment products and the machines that made them.

Among the patented products were: the Zino Pad, the first mass-produced corn pad; Absorbo corn pads; soft "Rubberless" support stockings; Foot Wings arch supports; and Ball-O-Foot Cushions. As the company expanded, it opened a branch factory in Toronto in 1908 and a retail store in London in 1911. Scholl's first retail store in the United States opened in 1928. Dr. Scholl's went on to become a major global company.

Scholl was a firm believer in and master of advertising and promotion. In fact, one of his mottos was "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise." He put an enormous amount of energy into thinking up attention-grabbing stunts, such as holding walking contests across the country, selling pedometers to measure distances walked, and creating a tremendous sense of competition. He also conducted a "Cinderella Foot Contest" in 1916, in which he had women put their footprints on a machine called a Pedo-Graph and gave an award for "the most perfect foot," the results of which were prominently displayed life-sized in newspapers for other women to compare their feet with. He also started a correspondence course for shoe-fitters.

When making sales calls, he wasn't above pulling a skeleton of the foot from a specially constructed pocket in his coat with a theatrical flourish and proceeding to give a lecture on the anatomy of the foot. Scholl died in 1968, but throughout his six-decade career his energy and enthusiasm for his foot-relief mission never flagged.

Obviously, in a category like this, people aren't collecting old moleskin pads (at least I hope they aren'), but are focusing on packaging and promotional items. In particular, there were quite elaborate display cases, which are of considerable interest, especially old glass-fronted tin ones. Other items include: shaker-type, tin, foot-soap containers and vintage advertiques, like a 39-inch metal thermometer with great period graphics and covered with such slogans that say, "Dr. Scholl's Foot Comfort Headquarters: Pains, Cramps or Calluses There? Let us take care of your foot troubles — Demonstration FREE."

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, including "Cool Names for Babies" and "The Baby Name Bible" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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