diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 73a7997caebd..fee37e4afe4c 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -26,8 +26,20 @@ install:
   - pip install -q --use-mirrors nose python-dateutil $NUMPY pep8 pyparsing pillow
   - sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -qq install inkscape libav-tools gdb
   # We use --no-install-recommends to avoid pulling in additional large latex docs that we don't need
-  - if [[ $BUILD_DOCS == true ]]; then sudo apt-get install -qq --no-install-recommends dvipng texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended graphviz; fi
-  - if [[ $BUILD_DOCS == true ]]; then pip install sphinx numpydoc linkchecker; fi
+
+  # We manually install humor sans using the package from Ubuntu 14.10. Unfortunatly humor sans is not
+  # availible in the Ubuntu version used by Travis but we can manually install the deb from a later
+  # version since is it basically just a .ttf file
+  - |
+    if [[ $BUILD_DOCS == true ]]; then
+      sudo apt-get install -qq --no-install-recommends dvipng texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended graphviz
+      pip install sphinx numpydoc linkchecker
+      wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/universe/f/fonts-humor-sans/fonts-humor-sans_1.0-1_all.deb
+      sudo dpkg -i fonts-humor-sans_1.0-1_all.deb
+      wget https://googlefontdirectory.googlecode.com/hg/ofl/felipa/Felipa-Regular.ttf
+      sudo cp Felipa-Regular.ttf /usr/local/share/fonts/
+      fc-cache -f -v
+    fi;
   - python setup.py install
 
 script:
diff --git a/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py b/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py
index 120043e53275..436135cf7fa9 100755
--- a/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py
+++ b/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 ax = subplot(111, axisbg='y')
 plot(t, x)
 text(0.5, 0.5, 'matplotlib', color='r',
-     fontsize=40, fontname='Courier',
+     fontsize=40, fontname=['Courier', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono'],
      horizontalalignment='center',
      verticalalignment='center',
      transform=ax.transAxes,
diff --git a/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py b/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py
index 0cfb6f73402e..a4a28846e428 100644
--- a/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py
+++ b/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ def f(t):
 xtext = xlabel('time (s)')
 
 setp(ttext, size='large', color='r', style='italic')
-setp(xtext, size='medium', name='courier', weight='bold', color='g')
-setp(ytext, size='medium', name='helvetica', weight='light', color='b')
+setp(xtext, size='medium', name=['Courier', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono'],
+     weight='bold', color='g')
+setp(ytext, size='medium', name=['Helvetica', 'Bitstream Vera Sans'],
+     weight='light', color='b')
 show()
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
index 958f68d3dd60..6217f4d8480f 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
@@ -541,7 +541,8 @@ def __call__(self, s):
                          'Arial', 'Helvetica', 'Avant Garde', 'sans-serif'],
                         validate_stringlist],
     'font.cursive':    [['Apple Chancery', 'Textile', 'Zapf Chancery',
-                         'Sand', 'Script MT', 'cursive'], validate_stringlist],
+                         'Sand', 'Script MT', 'Felipa', 'cursive'],
+                        validate_stringlist],
     'font.fantasy':    [['Comic Sans MS', 'Chicago', 'Charcoal', 'Impact'
                          'Western', 'Humor Sans', 'fantasy'],
                         validate_stringlist],
diff --git a/matplotlibrc.template b/matplotlibrc.template
index 215e805d144a..5ab76d245e87 100644
--- a/matplotlibrc.template
+++ b/matplotlibrc.template
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ backend      : %(backend)s
 #font.size           : 12.0
 #font.serif          : Bitstream Vera Serif, New Century Schoolbook, Century Schoolbook L, Utopia, ITC Bookman, Bookman, Nimbus Roman No9 L, Times New Roman, Times, Palatino, Charter, serif
 #font.sans-serif     : Bitstream Vera Sans, Lucida Grande, Verdana, Geneva, Lucid, Arial, Helvetica, Avant Garde, sans-serif
-#font.cursive        : Apple Chancery, Textile, Zapf Chancery, Sand, Script MT, cursive
+#font.cursive        : Apple Chancery, Textile, Zapf Chancery, Sand, Script MT, Felipa, cursive
 #font.fantasy        : Comic Sans MS, Chicago, Charcoal, Impact, Western, Humor Sans, fantasy
 #font.monospace      : Bitstream Vera Sans Mono, Andale Mono, Nimbus Mono L, Courier New, Courier, Fixed, Terminal, monospace