diff --git a/example/example-custom-exceptions.cpp b/example/example-custom-exceptions.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41d51d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/example-custom-exceptions.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/*
+    example/example-custom-exceptions.cpp -- exception translation
+
+    Copyright (c) 2016 Pim Schellart <P.Schellart@princeton.edu>
+
+    All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+    BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+*/
+
+#include "example.h"
+
+// A type that should be raised as an exeption in Python
+class MyException : public std::exception {
+public:
+    explicit MyException(const char * m) : message{m} {}
+    virtual const char * what() const noexcept override {return message.c_str();}
+private:
+    std::string message = "";
+};
+
+// A type that should be translated to a standard Python exception
+class MyException2 : public std::exception {
+public:
+    explicit MyException2(const char * m) : message{m} {}
+    virtual const char * what() const noexcept override {return message.c_str();}
+private:
+    std::string message = "";
+};
+
+// A type that is not derived from std::exception (and is thus unknown)
+class MyException3 {
+public:
+    explicit MyException3(const char * m) : message{m} {}
+    virtual const char * what() const noexcept {return message.c_str();}
+private:
+    std::string message = "";
+};
+
+// A type that should be translated to MyException
+// and delegated to its exception translator
+class MyException4 : public std::exception {
+public:
+    explicit MyException4(const char * m) : message{m} {}
+    virtual const char * what() const noexcept override {return message.c_str();}
+private:
+    std::string message = "";
+};
+
+void throws1() {
+    throw MyException("this error should go to a custom type");
+}
+
+void throws2() {
+    throw MyException2("this error should go to a standard Python exception");
+}
+
+void throws3() {
+    throw MyException3("this error cannot be translated");
+}
+
+void throws4() {
+    throw MyException4("this error is rethrown");
+}
+
+void throws_logic_error() {
+    throw std::logic_error("this error should fall through to the standard handler");
+}
+
+void init_ex_custom_exceptions(py::module &m) {
+    // make a new custom exception and use it as a translation target
+    static py::exception<MyException> ex(m, "MyException");
+    py::register_exception_translator([](std::exception_ptr p) {
+        try {
+            if (p) std::rethrow_exception(p);
+        } catch (const MyException &e) {
+            PyErr_SetString(ex.ptr(), e.what());
+        }
+    });
+
+    // register new translator for MyException2
+    // no need to store anything here because this type will
+    // never by visible from Python
+    py::register_exception_translator([](std::exception_ptr p) {
+        try {
+            if (p) std::rethrow_exception(p);
+        } catch (const MyException2 &e) {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, e.what());
+        }
+    });
+
+    // register new translator for MyException4
+    // which will catch it and delegate to the previously registered
+    // translator for MyException by throwing a new exception
+    py::register_exception_translator([](std::exception_ptr p) {
+        try {
+            if (p) std::rethrow_exception(p);
+        } catch (const MyException4 &e) {
+            throw MyException(e.what());
+        }
+    });
+
+    m.def("throws1", &throws1);
+    m.def("throws2", &throws2);
+    m.def("throws3", &throws3);
+    m.def("throws4", &throws4);
+    m.def("throws_logic_error", &throws_logic_error);
+}
+