Hi Gerry, I just noticed a similar "failure" when I try to
> run matplotlib from the root of the source tree, i.e. the
> directory matplotlib-0.53. I think doing that (running from
> the root) causes Python to interpret the matplotlib
> subdirectory (matplotlib-0.53/matplotlib) as a package and
> to look for ft2font.so there rather than in
> site-packages/matplotlib. Try cd'ing to some other
> directory.
Oh yes, that is the very likely culprit. It needs to be a FAQ.
Good thinking!
JDH