This is a study of the history of club-foot from ancient times up to the present. It embraces not only the clinical aspects of the deformity but also its social implications, particularly of its early history when the attitude of society towards the lame and crippled in general and to foot deformities in particular is discussed. Relevant references from Greek mythology and also from the Old Testament are quoted. A close study is made of the old Chinese custom of foot-binding which produced club-foot like deformities which became a symbol of social standing. Inevitably, like most other medical conditions, club-foot has been well described by Hippocrates and it is a sobering thought that his concepts of causation and his principles of treatment are as valid today as they were 2300 years ago. This paper also briefly describes club-foot in history and art. Encouraged by society's compassionate approach towards the cripple, famous painters of the 17th century produced sympathetic portraits of the deformed and the club-footed. Well-known personalities who suffered from club-foot, such as Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, are mentioned and it is shown how the deformity affected them. The saga of the physician and surgeon W.J. Little, himself afflicted by club-foot, is unfolded. His life was dedicated to the study and relief of his own deformity and later he devoted his efforts towards the cure of his fellow sufferers. W.J. Little has done so much for the advancement of orthopaedic surgery that Sir Robert Jones called him the father of orthopaedic surgery; yet at heart W.J. Little was a physician! Another physician, Nicholas André, deserves the title of father of orthopaedic surgery. He coined the word 'orthopaedia' and laid down the principles of preventing and correcting deformities and he detailed the conservative management of club-foot. The treatment of the deformity came into the hands of bone setters and instrument makers and it was almost beneath the dignity of a surgeon to treat it. Yet, with the advent of tenotomy, popularised by Little, surgical treatment of the condition increased, aided by the development of antiseptic and aseptic technique and anaesthesia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)