diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1d59195..22bcb13 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ## Master
 
+* Bugfix: Use a cell's custom style over table styles. (PR [#59](https://github.com/prawnpdf/prawn-table/pull/59), issue [#65](https://github.com/prawnpdf/prawn-table/issues/56))
 * Bugfix: Use the cell's specified font to calculate the cell width. (Jesse Doyle, PR [#60](https://github.com/prawnpdf/prawn-table/pull/60), issue [#42](https://github.com/prawnpdf/prawn-table/issues/42))
 
 ## 0.2.3
diff --git a/lib/prawn/table.rb b/lib/prawn/table.rb
index 264bf7a..1c9c2cf 100644
--- a/lib/prawn/table.rb
+++ b/lib/prawn/table.rb
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ module Errors
   #   end
   #
   class Table
-    module Interface 
+    module Interface
       # @group Experimental API
 
       # Set up and draw a table on this document. A block can be given, which will
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ def make_table(data, options={}, &block)
     #
     def initialize(data, document, options={}, &block)
       @pdf = document
-      @cells = make_cells(data)
+      @cells = make_cells(data, options.delete(:cell_style) || {})
       @header = false
       options.each { |k, v| send("#{k}=", v) }
 
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ def draw
         cells_this_page = []
 
         @cells.each do |cell|
-          if start_new_page?(cell, offset, ref_bounds) 
+          if start_new_page?(cell, offset, ref_bounds)
             # draw cells on the current page and then start a new one
             # this will also add a header to the new page if a header is set
             # reset array of cells for the new page
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ def row_heights
     end
 
     protected
-    
+
     # sets the background color (if necessary) for the given cell
     def set_background_color(cell, started_new_page_at_row)
       if defined?(@row_colors) && @row_colors && (!@header || cell.row > 0)
@@ -429,9 +429,9 @@ def ink_and_draw_cells(cells_this_page, draw_cells = true)
     def ink_and_draw_cells_and_start_new_page(cells_this_page, cell)
       # don't draw only a header
       draw_cells = (@header_row.nil? || cells_this_page.size > @header_row.size)
-      
+
       ink_and_draw_cells(cells_this_page, draw_cells)
-      
+
       # start a new page or column
       @pdf.bounds.move_past_bottom
 
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ def header_rows
     # Prawn::Table::Cell, and sets up their in-table properties so that they
     # know their own position in the table.
     #
-    def make_cells(data)
+    def make_cells(data, cell_style = {})
       assert_proper_table_data(data)
 
       cells = Cells.new
@@ -523,7 +523,11 @@ def make_cells(data)
           column_number += 1 until cells[row_number, column_number].nil?
 
           # Build the cell and store it in the Cells collection.
-          cell = Cell.make(@pdf, cell_data)
+          cell = if cell_data.is_a?(Hash)
+            Cell.make(@pdf, cell_style.merge(cell_data))
+          else
+            Cell.make(@pdf, cell_data, cell_style)
+          end
           cells[row_number, column_number] = cell
 
           # Add dummy cells for the rest of the cells in the span group. This
@@ -576,7 +580,7 @@ def add_header(row_number, cells_this_page)
         number_of_header_rows.times do |h|
           additional_header_height = add_one_header_row(cells_this_page, x_offset, y_coord-header_height, row_number-1, h)
           header_height += additional_header_height
-        end        
+        end
       end
       header_height
     end
@@ -593,7 +597,7 @@ def add_one_header_row(page_of_cells, x_offset, y, row, row_of_header=nil)
       rows_to_operate_on = @header_row.rows(row_of_header) if row_of_header
       rows_to_operate_on.each do |cell|
         cell.row = row
-        cell.dummy_cells.each {|c| 
+        cell.dummy_cells.each {|c|
           if cell.rowspan > 1
             # be sure to account for cells that span multiple rows
             # in this case you need multiple row numbers
diff --git a/lib/prawn/table/cell.rb b/lib/prawn/table/cell.rb
index 83b940f..493ad4d 100644
--- a/lib/prawn/table/cell.rb
+++ b/lib/prawn/table/cell.rb
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ def initialize(pdf, point, options={})
         @rowspan = 1
         @dummy_cells = []
 
-        options.each { |k, v| send("#{k}=", v) }
+        style(options)
 
         @initializer_run = true
       end
diff --git a/manual/table/style.rb b/manual/table/style.rb
index 22c8f56..b618605 100644
--- a/manual/table/style.rb
+++ b/manual/table/style.rb
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
 # also accepts a block that will be called for each cell and can be used for
 # some complex styling.
 #
+# Individual cell styles can also be applied when defining the data for the
+# table using a hash syntax for the cell.  This style will take precedence over
+# any table level cell styles.  See the "cell_text" section for a list of
+# options.
+
 require File.expand_path(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__),
                                    %w[.. example_helper]))
 
@@ -19,4 +24,10 @@
       c.background_color = ((c.row + c.column) % 2).zero? ? '000000' : 'ffffff'
     end
   end
+  move_down 20
+
+  table(
+    [['A', 'B'],['C', { content: 'D', text_color: 'ff0000' }]],
+    cell_style: { text_color: '0000ff' }
+  )
 end
diff --git a/spec/table_spec.rb b/spec/table_spec.rb
index d33c245..f6578bc 100644
--- a/spec/table_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/table_spec.rb
@@ -1604,4 +1604,14 @@
     pdf.render
     pdf.page_count.should == 1
   end
+
+  it 'illustrates issue #56 cell style should not be overwritten by table style', issue: 56 do
+    t = @pdf.table([['col1', 'col2'],
+                    ['val1', { content: 'val2', align: :left }]],
+                   cell_style: { align: :center })
+    t.cells[0, 0].align.should == :center
+    t.cells[0, 1].align.should == :center
+    t.cells[1, 0].align.should == :center
+    t.cells[1, 1].align.should == :left
+  end
 end