diff --git a/include/boost/python/type_id.hpp b/include/boost/python/type_id.hpp
index 10b8fba6..d4fb852b 100755
--- a/include/boost/python/type_id.hpp
+++ b/include/boost/python/type_id.hpp
@@ -35,6 +35,13 @@ namespace boost { namespace python {
 #  define BOOST_PYTHON_TYPE_ID_NAME
 # endif 
 
+#ifdef BOOST_PYTHON_HAVE_GCC_CP_DEMANGLE
+// Runtime detection of broken cxxabi::__cxa_demangle versions,
+// to avoid #ifdef clutter.
+bool cxxabi_cxa_demangle_is_broken();
+#define BOOST_PYTHON_HAVE_CXXABI_CXA_DEMANGLE_IS_BROKEN
+#endif
+
 // type ids which represent the same information as std::type_info
 // (i.e. the top-level reference and cv-qualifiers are stripped), but
 // which works across shared libraries.
diff --git a/src/converter/type_id.cpp b/src/converter/type_id.cpp
index 3fc64a6f..b0afee45 100644
--- a/src/converter/type_id.cpp
+++ b/src/converter/type_id.cpp
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 # include <ostream.h>
 #endif 
 
-
 #  ifdef BOOST_PYTHON_HAVE_GCC_CP_DEMANGLE
 #   if defined(__GNUC__) &&  __GNUC__ >= 3
 
@@ -78,6 +77,21 @@ namespace
   };
 }
 
+bool cxxabi_cxa_demangle_is_broken()
+{
+    static bool was_tested = false;
+    static bool is_broken = false;
+    if (!was_tested) {
+        int status;
+        free_mem keeper(cxxabi::__cxa_demangle("b", 0, 0, &status));
+        was_tested = true;
+        if (status == -2 || strcmp(keeper.p, "bool") != 0) {
+          is_broken = true;
+        }
+    }
+    return is_broken;
+}
+
 namespace detail
 {
   BOOST_PYTHON_DECL char const* gcc_demangle(char const* mangled)
@@ -115,6 +129,44 @@ namespace detail
                   ? mangled
                   : keeper.p;
 
+              // Ult Mundane, 2005 Aug 17
+              // Contributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0.
+              // (See accompanying file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at
+              // http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
+              // The __cxa_demangle function is supposed to translate
+              // builtin types from their one-character mangled names,
+              // but it doesn't in gcc 3.3.5 and gcc 3.4.x.
+              if (cxxabi_cxa_demangle_is_broken()
+                  && status == -2 && strlen(mangled) == 1)
+              {
+                  // list from
+                  // http://www.codesourcery.com/cxx-abi/abi.html
+                  switch (mangled[0])
+                  {
+                      case 'v': demangled = "void"; break;
+                      case 'w': demangled = "wchar_t"; break;
+                      case 'b': demangled = "bool"; break;
+                      case 'c': demangled = "char"; break;
+                      case 'a': demangled = "signed char"; break;
+                      case 'h': demangled = "unsigned char"; break;
+                      case 's': demangled = "short"; break;
+                      case 't': demangled = "unsigned short"; break;
+                      case 'i': demangled = "int"; break;
+                      case 'j': demangled = "unsigned int"; break;
+                      case 'l': demangled = "long"; break;
+                      case 'm': demangled = "unsigned long"; break;
+                      case 'x': demangled = "long long"; break;
+                      case 'y': demangled = "unsigned long long"; break;
+                      case 'n': demangled = "__int128"; break;
+                      case 'o': demangled = "unsigned __int128"; break;
+                      case 'f': demangled = "float"; break;
+                      case 'd': demangled = "double"; break;
+                      case 'e': demangled = "long double"; break;
+                      case 'g': demangled = "__float128"; break;
+                      case 'z': demangled = "..."; break;
+                  }
+              }
+
               p = demangler.insert(p, std::make_pair(mangled, demangled));
               keeper.p = 0;
           }