![](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/504/205/large_thumbnail_smg00306999.jpg)
Pedoscope X-ray apparatus
- maker:
- Pedoscope Company Limited
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/452/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0009_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/448/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0005_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/447/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0004_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/451/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0008_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/449/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0006_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/334/450/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0007_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus, by the Pedoscope Co. Ltd](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/6/20/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0001_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus, by the Pedoscope Co. Ltd](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/6/22/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0003_.jpg)
![Pedoscope X-ray apparatus, by the Pedoscope Co. Ltd](https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/6/21/small_thumbnail_1988_1332__0002_.jpg)
Pedoscope X-ray apparatus, by the Pedoscope Co. Ltd., English, 1930-1955
Pedoscopes were used in European and North American shoe shops during the middle of the 20th century. They created X-ray images of the foot without the need to remove the shoe. This one consists of a large wooden box with a hole near the bottom into which the foot was placed. The length of X-ray exposure could be altered depending on whether you were a man, woman or child. The fluorescent image of the foot bones within the shoe were viewed through a hole in the top of the cabinet by the shoe fitter. The other two holes were used by the child and the parent or guardian.
The pedoscope carries a health warning suggesting customers have no more than 12 shoe fittings a year. Health concerns, especially about the staff using them throughout their working day, saw the machines eventually withdrawn.