diff --git a/bindings/python/mapnik_image.cpp b/bindings/python/mapnik_image.cpp
index 5ade76573..cd5868dea 100644
--- a/bindings/python/mapnik_image.cpp
+++ b/bindings/python/mapnik_image.cpp
@@ -40,9 +40,6 @@ extern "C"
 #include <mapnik/image_reader.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/image_compositing.hpp>
 
-// stl
-#include <sstream>
-
 // jpeg
 #if defined(HAVE_JPEG)
 #include <mapnik/jpeg_io.hpp>