diff --git a/src/ChangeLog b/src/ChangeLog
index 5375574b2a2..66e0e7e034d 100644
--- a/src/ChangeLog
+++ b/src/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2009-09-24  Juanma Barranquero  <lekktu@gmail.com>
+
+	* frame.c (xrdb_get_resource): Return nil for empty string resources;
+	some parts of Emacs code (like font selection) don't grok them.  See
+	http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2009-09/msg00528.html
+
 2009-09-24  Andreas Schwab  <schwab@redhat.com>
 
 	* coding.c (decode_coding_iso_2022): Fix operator precedence.
diff --git a/src/frame.c b/src/frame.c
index b18446d38b6..a74a0987453 100644
--- a/src/frame.c
+++ b/src/frame.c
@@ -3854,7 +3854,7 @@ xrdb_get_resource (rdb, attribute, class, component, subclass)
 
   value = x_get_string_resource (rdb, name_key, class_key);
 
-  if (value != (char *) 0)
+  if (value != (char *) 0 && *value)
     return build_string (value);
   else
     return Qnil;