This Artist Sent Thousands Of Dumb Drawings To Celebrities And Got Them Autographed (48 Pics)

The list of people who responded to Leeds' requests is surprisingly varied. Actress Jennifer Lawrence signed an illustration of a Hungry-Man frozen dinner, skateboarder Rodney Mullen autographed a drawing of Disney's Mulan, and musician “Weird Al” Yankovic signed a picture of Big Gay Al from South Park. Even filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola got involved, signing a drawing of the professional wrestler known as The Godfather. In another memorable exchange, Tiger King star Joe Exotic returned a signed photocopy of Leeds' drawing of Tiger Woods, along with a letter asking the artist for help securing a presidential pardon.

But behind all these amusing illustrations is an equally unconventional origin story. In the book's introduction, Leeds explains that his original motivation was actually to support the United States Postal Service. He wanted to celebrate the simple pleasure of receiving physical mail while highlighting the challenges facing the postal system. What better way to do that than to send thousands of drawings across the country and hope some would eventually return with famous signatures attached?

However, according to Leeds, the project eventually became something of a personal quest for revenge against Benjamin Franklin. As he explains in the book, his ancestor, Titan Leeds, was involved in a centuries-old publishing rivalry with Franklin, who famously predicted Titan would pass away in an edition of “Poor Richard's Almanac.” When Titan failed to pass away as predicted, Franklin continued the joke by publishing his obituary anyway. Alex revived this family feud nearly 300 years later with a humorous prediction of his own about the future of the Postal Service.

That same offbeat humor runs throughout “Dumb Drawings Autographed By Celebrities.” Rather than simply presenting a gallery of signed artwork, Leeds includes amusing commentary, stories about his correspondence, absurd trivia, and occasional glimpses into the responses he received. Even the book's supposed foreword by former Florida governor Jeb Bush is part of the joke: Bush's brief email declining the author's request to write one.

Of course, readers shouldn't take everything written alongside these drawings at face value. As the publisher makes clear in the book's preface, the entire collection is a work of satire. While the celebrity autographs themselves are genuine, plenty of the accompanying facts, statistics, and anecdotes are deliberately fabricated for comedic effect. Some of the most ridiculous claims are actually true, while others that sound surprisingly believable are completely made up. The publisher also emphasizes that the celebrities who signed the drawings haven't necessarily read or approved the humorous commentary accompanying their signatures.

Ultimately, the collection is as much about the strange value we place on celebrity signatures as it is about the drawings themselves. After all, an intentionally crude sketch might not attract much attention on its own, but add the autograph of a Hollywood star, famous musician, or television personality, and suddenly it becomes a rather unusual collectible. And if nothing else, Leeds has demonstrated just how far a little creativity, persistence, and an impressive postage budget can take a seemingly ridiculous idea.