diff --git a/include/boost/python/object/pickle_support.hpp b/include/boost/python/object/pickle_support.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..730ae639
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/boost/python/object/pickle_support.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+//  (C) Copyright R.W. Grosse-Kunstleve 2002.
+//  Permission to copy, use, modify, sell and distribute this software
+//  is granted provided this copyright notice appears in all copies. This
+//  software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty, and
+//  with no claim as to its suitability for any purpose.
+#ifndef BOOST_PYTHON_OBJECT_PICKLE_SUPPORT_RWGK20020603_HPP
+#define BOOST_PYTHON_OBJECT_PICKLE_SUPPORT_RWGK20020603_HPP
+
+#include <boost/python/object/class.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/tuple.hpp>
+
+namespace boost { namespace python {
+
+handle<> make_instance_reduce_function();
+
+namespace error_messages {
+
+  template <class T>
+  struct missing_pickle_support_function_or_incorrect_signature {};
+
+}
+
+class pickle_support_base
+{
+  private:
+    struct dummy_return_type_ {};
+
+  public:
+    template <class Class_, class Tgetinitargs>
+    static
+    void
+    register_(
+      Class_& cl,
+      tuple (*getinitargs_fn)(Tgetinitargs),
+      dummy_return_type_* (*getstate_fn)(),
+      dummy_return_type_* (*setstate_fn)(),
+      bool)
+    {
+      cl.enable_pickle_support(false);
+      cl.def("__getinitargs__", getinitargs_fn);
+    }
+
+    template <class Class_, class Tgetstate, class Tsetstate>
+    static
+    void
+    register_(
+      Class_& cl,
+      dummy_return_type_* (*getinitargs_fn)(),
+      tuple (*getstate_fn)(Tgetstate),
+      void (*setstate_fn)(Tsetstate, object),
+      bool getstate_manages_dict)
+    {
+      cl.enable_pickle_support(getstate_manages_dict);
+      cl.def("__getstate__", getstate_fn);
+      cl.def("__setstate__", setstate_fn);
+    }
+
+    template <class Class_,
+              class Tgetinitargs, class Tgetstate, class Tsetstate>
+    static
+    void
+    register_(
+      Class_& cl,
+      tuple (*getinitargs_fn)(Tgetinitargs),
+      tuple (*getstate_fn)(Tgetstate),
+      void (*setstate_fn)(Tsetstate, object),
+      bool getstate_manages_dict)
+    {
+      cl.enable_pickle_support(getstate_manages_dict);
+      cl.def("__getinitargs__", getinitargs_fn);
+      cl.def("__getstate__", getstate_fn);
+      cl.def("__setstate__", setstate_fn);
+    }
+
+    template <class Class_>
+    static
+    void
+    register_(
+      Class_&,
+      ...)
+    {
+      typedef typename
+        error_messages::missing_pickle_support_function_or_incorrect_signature<
+          Class_>::error_type error_type;
+    }
+
+    static dummy_return_type_* getinitargs() { return 0; }
+    static dummy_return_type_* getstate() { return 0; }
+    static dummy_return_type_* setstate() { return 0; }
+
+    static bool getstate_manages_dict() { return false; }
+};
+
+}} // namespace boost::python
+
+#endif // BOOST_PYTHON_OBJECT_PICKLE_SUPPORT_RWGK20020603_HPP
diff --git a/src/object/pickle_support.cpp b/src/object/pickle_support.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b14c8ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/object/pickle_support.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+//  (C) Copyright R.W. Grosse-Kunstleve 2002.
+//  Permission to copy, use, modify, sell and distribute this software
+//  is granted provided this copyright notice appears in all copies. This
+//  software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty, and
+//  with no claim as to its suitability for any purpose.
+
+#include <boost/python/make_function.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/object/class.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/tuple.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/list.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/dict.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/detail/api_placeholder.hpp>
+
+namespace boost { namespace python {
+
+namespace {
+
+  tuple instance_reduce(object instance_obj)
+  {
+      list result;
+      object instance_class(instance_obj.attr("__class__"));
+      result.append(instance_class);
+      object none;
+      object getinitargs = getattr(instance_obj, "__getinitargs__", none);
+      tuple initargs;
+      if (getinitargs.ptr() != none.ptr()) {
+          initargs = tuple(getinitargs());
+      }
+      result.append(initargs);
+      object getstate = getattr(instance_obj, "__getstate__", none);
+      object instance_dict = getattr(instance_obj, "__dict__", none);
+      long len_instance_dict = 0;
+      if (instance_dict.ptr() != none.ptr()) {
+          len_instance_dict = len(instance_dict);
+      }
+      if (getstate.ptr() != none.ptr()) {
+          if (len_instance_dict > 0) {
+              object getstate_manages_dict = getattr(
+                instance_obj, "__getstate_manages_dict__", none);
+              if (getstate_manages_dict.ptr() == none.ptr()) {
+                  PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError,
+                    "Incomplete pickle support"
+                    " (__getstate_manages_dict__ not set)");
+                  throw_error_already_set();
+              }
+          }
+          result.append(getstate());
+      }
+      else if (len_instance_dict > 0) {
+          result.append(instance_dict);
+      }
+      return tuple(result);
+  }
+
+} // namespace
+
+handle<> make_instance_reduce_function()
+{
+    static handle<> result(make_function(&instance_reduce));
+    return result;
+}
+
+}} // namespace boost::python
diff --git a/test/pickle1.cpp b/test/pickle1.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b8b0fa92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle1.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+// Example by Ralf W. Grosse-Kunstleve
+
+/*
+    This example shows how to make an Extension Class "pickleable".
+
+    The world class below can be fully restored by passing the
+    appropriate argument to the constructor. Therefore it is sufficient
+    to define the pickle interface method __getinitargs__.
+
+    For more information refer to boost/libs/python/doc/pickle.html.
+ */
+
+#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/class.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/list.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/tuple.hpp>
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace {
+
+  // A friendly class.
+  class world
+  {
+    private:
+      std::string country;
+    public:
+      world(const std::string& country) {
+        this->country = country;
+      }
+      std::string greet() const { return "Hello from " + country + "!"; }
+      std::string get_country() const { return country; }
+  };
+
+  struct world_pickle_support : boost::python::pickle_support_base
+  {
+    static
+    boost::python::tuple
+    getinitargs(const world& w)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        list result;
+        result.append(object(w.get_country()));
+        return tuple(result);
+    }
+  };
+
+}
+
+BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE_INIT(pickle1_ext)
+{
+  using namespace boost::python;
+  module("pickle1_ext")
+    .add(class_<world>("world")
+      .def_init(args<const std::string&>())
+      .def("greet", &world::greet)
+      .pickle_support(world_pickle_support())
+    )
+  ;
+}
diff --git a/test/pickle1.py b/test/pickle1.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1aeabc70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle1.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+r'''>>> import pickle1_ext
+    >>> import pickle
+    >>> pickle1_ext.world.__module__
+    'pickle1_ext'
+    >>> pickle1_ext.world.__safe_for_unpickling__
+    1
+    >>> pickle1_ext.world.__name__
+    'world'
+    >>> pickle1_ext.world('Hello').__reduce__()
+    (<class 'pickle1_ext.world'>, ('Hello',))
+    >>> wd = pickle1_ext.world('California')
+    >>> pstr = pickle.dumps(wd)
+    >>> wl = pickle.loads(pstr)
+    >>> print wd.greet()
+    Hello from California!
+    >>> print wl.greet()
+    Hello from California!
+'''
+
+def run(args = None):
+    if args is not None:
+        import sys
+        sys.argv = args
+    import doctest, pickle1
+    return doctest.testmod(pickle1)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    import sys
+    sys.exit(run()[0])
+
diff --git a/test/pickle2.cpp b/test/pickle2.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fed1066b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle2.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+// Example by Ralf W. Grosse-Kunstleve
+
+/*
+    This example shows how to make an Extension Class "pickleable".
+
+    The world class below contains member data (secret_number) that
+    cannot be restored by any of the constructors. Therefore it is
+    necessary to provide the __getstate__/__setstate__ pair of pickle
+    interface methods.
+
+    For simplicity, the __dict__ is not included in the result of
+    __getstate__. This is not generally recommended, but a valid
+    approach if it is anticipated that the object's __dict__ will
+    always be empty. Note that safety guards are provided to catch
+    the cases where this assumption is not true.
+
+    pickle3.cpp shows how to include the object's __dict__ in the
+    result of __getstate__.
+
+    For more information refer to boost/libs/python/doc/pickle.html.
+ */
+
+#include <string>
+
+#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/class.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/list.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/tuple.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/extract.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/detail/api_placeholder.hpp>
+
+namespace { // Avoid cluttering the global namespace.
+
+  // A friendly class.
+  class world
+  {
+    public:
+      world(const std::string& country) : secret_number(0) {
+        this->country = country;
+      }
+      std::string greet() const { return "Hello from " + country + "!"; }
+      std::string get_country() const { return country; }
+      void set_secret_number(int number) { secret_number = number; }
+      int get_secret_number() const { return secret_number; }
+    private:
+      std::string country;
+      int secret_number;
+  };
+
+  struct world_pickle_support : boost::python::pickle_support_base
+  {
+    static
+    boost::python::tuple
+    getinitargs(const world& w)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        list result;
+        result.append(object(w.get_country()));
+        return tuple(result);
+    }
+
+    static
+    boost::python::tuple
+    getstate(const world& w)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        list result;
+        result.append(object(w.get_secret_number()));
+        return tuple(result);
+    }
+
+    static
+    void
+    setstate(world& w, boost::python::object state)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        extract<tuple> state_proxy(state);
+        if (!state_proxy.check() || len(state_proxy()) != 1) {
+          PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+            "Unexpected argument in call to __setstate__.");
+          throw_error_already_set();
+        }
+        long number = extract<long>(state_proxy()[0])();
+        if (number != 42) w.set_secret_number(number);
+    }
+  };
+
+}
+
+BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE_INIT(pickle2_ext)
+{
+  boost::python::module("pickle2_ext")
+    .add(boost::python::class_<world>("world")
+      .def_init(boost::python::args<const std::string&>())
+      .def("greet", &world::greet)
+      .def("get_secret_number", &world::get_secret_number)
+      .def("set_secret_number", &world::set_secret_number)
+      .pickle_support(world_pickle_support())
+    )
+  ;
+}
diff --git a/test/pickle2.py b/test/pickle2.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d31e48b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle2.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+r'''>>> import pickle2_ext
+    >>> import pickle
+    >>> pickle2_ext.world.__module__
+    'pickle2_ext'
+    >>> pickle2_ext.world.__safe_for_unpickling__
+    1
+    >>> pickle2_ext.world.__name__
+    'world'
+    >>> pickle2_ext.world('Hello').__reduce__()
+    (<class 'pickle2_ext.world'>, ('Hello',), (0,))
+    >>> for number in (24, 42):
+    ...   wd = pickle2_ext.world('California')
+    ...   wd.set_secret_number(number)
+    ...   pstr = pickle.dumps(wd)
+    ...   wl = pickle.loads(pstr)
+    ...   print wd.greet(), wd.get_secret_number()
+    ...   print wl.greet(), wl.get_secret_number()
+    Hello from California! 24
+    Hello from California! 24
+    Hello from California! 42
+    Hello from California! 0
+
+# Now show that the __dict__ is not taken care of.
+    >>> wd = pickle2_ext.world('California')
+    >>> wd.x = 1
+    >>> wd.__dict__
+    {'x': 1}
+    >>> try: pstr = pickle.dumps(wd)
+    ... except RuntimeError, err: print err[0]
+    ...
+    Incomplete pickle support (__getstate_manages_dict__ not set)
+'''
+
+def run(args = None):
+    if args is not None:
+        import sys
+        sys.argv = args
+    import doctest, pickle2
+    return doctest.testmod(pickle2)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    import sys
+    sys.exit(run()[0])
+
diff --git a/test/pickle3.cpp b/test/pickle3.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..617143d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle3.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+// Example by Ralf W. Grosse-Kunstleve
+
+/*
+    This example shows how to make an Extension Class "pickleable".
+
+    The world class below contains member data (secret_number) that
+    cannot be restored by any of the constructors. Therefore it is
+    necessary to provide the __getstate__/__setstate__ pair of pickle
+    interface methods.
+
+    The object's __dict__ is included in the result of __getstate__.
+    This requires more code (compare with pickle2.cpp), but is
+    unavoidable if the object's __dict__ is not always empty.
+
+    For more information refer to boost/libs/python/doc/pickle.html.
+ */
+
+#include <string>
+
+#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/class.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/list.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/tuple.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/dict.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/extract.hpp>
+#include <boost/python/detail/api_placeholder.hpp>
+
+namespace { // Avoid cluttering the global namespace.
+
+  // A friendly class.
+  class world
+  {
+    public:
+      world(const std::string& country) : secret_number(0) {
+        this->country = country;
+      }
+      std::string greet() const { return "Hello from " + country + "!"; }
+      std::string get_country() const { return country; }
+      void set_secret_number(int number) { secret_number = number; }
+      int get_secret_number() const { return secret_number; }
+    private:
+      std::string country;
+      int secret_number;
+  };
+
+  struct world_pickle_support : boost::python::pickle_support_base
+  {
+    static
+    boost::python::tuple
+    getinitargs(const world& w)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        list result;
+        result.append(object(w.get_country()));
+        return tuple(result);
+    }
+
+    static
+    boost::python::tuple
+    getstate(boost::python::object w_obj)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        world const& w = extract<world const&>(w_obj)();
+        list result;
+        // store the object's __dict__
+        result.append(w_obj.attr("__dict__"));
+        // store the internal state of the C++ object
+        result.append(object(w.get_secret_number()));
+        return tuple(result);
+    }
+
+    static
+    void
+    setstate(boost::python::object w_obj, boost::python::object state)
+    {
+        using namespace boost::python;
+        world& w = extract<world&>(w_obj)();
+        extract<tuple> state_proxy(state);
+        if (!state_proxy.check() || len(state_proxy()) != 2) {
+          PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+            "Unexpected argument in call to __setstate__.");
+          throw_error_already_set();
+        }
+        // restore the object's __dict__
+        w_obj.attr("__dict__").attr("update")(object(state_proxy()[0]));
+        // restore the internal state of the C++ object
+        long number = extract<long>(state_proxy()[1])();
+        if (number != 42) w.set_secret_number(number);
+    }
+
+    static bool getstate_manages_dict() { return true; }
+  };
+
+}
+
+BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE_INIT(pickle3_ext)
+{
+  boost::python::module("pickle3_ext")
+    .add(boost::python::class_<world>("world")
+      .def_init(boost::python::args<const std::string&>())
+      .def("greet", &world::greet)
+      .def("get_secret_number", &world::get_secret_number)
+      .def("set_secret_number", &world::set_secret_number)
+      .pickle_support(world_pickle_support())
+    )
+  ;
+}
diff --git a/test/pickle3.py b/test/pickle3.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8cce8dfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pickle3.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+r'''>>> import pickle3_ext
+    >>> import pickle
+    >>> pickle3_ext.world.__module__
+    'pickle3_ext'
+    >>> pickle3_ext.world.__safe_for_unpickling__
+    1
+    >>> pickle3_ext.world.__getstate_manages_dict__
+    1
+    >>> pickle3_ext.world.__name__
+    'world'
+    >>> pickle3_ext.world('Hello').__reduce__()
+    (<class 'pickle3_ext.world'>, ('Hello',), ({}, 0))
+    >>> for number in (24, 42):
+    ...   wd = pickle3_ext.world('California')
+    ...   wd.set_secret_number(number)
+    ...   wd.x = 2 * number
+    ...   wd.y = 'y' * number
+    ...   wd.z = 3. * number
+    ...   pstr = pickle.dumps(wd)
+    ...   wl = pickle.loads(pstr)
+    ...   print wd.greet(), wd.get_secret_number(), wd.x, wd.y, wd.z
+    ...   print wl.greet(), wl.get_secret_number(), wl.x, wl.y, wl.z
+    Hello from California! 24 48 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 72.0
+    Hello from California! 24 48 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 72.0
+    Hello from California! 42 84 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 126.0
+    Hello from California! 0 84 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 126.0
+'''
+
+def run(args = None):
+    if args is not None:
+        import sys
+        sys.argv = args
+    import doctest, pickle3
+    return doctest.testmod(pickle3)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    import sys
+    sys.exit(run()[0])