Don’t believe me? Check out the list of America’s most popular magazines.

Family Circle

Published by the Meredith Corporation, Family Circle has been called the most popular women’s magazine in America at times. It was originally published in 1932 by the New York Times and now reaches 20 million readers monthly. It’s considered one of the “seven sisters,” a group of women’s magazines also consisting of Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Garden, Woman’s Day and Redbook.

Good Housekeeping

Another of the “sisters,” currently owned by the Hearst Corporation, Good Housekeeping was originally published in 1885 by Clark W. Bryan in Holyoke, Massachussetts. It was acquired by the Hearst Corporation, still run by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, in 1911. The popular women’s magazine is well known for the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”

National Geographic

The National Geographic Society first convened in Washington, DC’s Cosmos Club in 1888. At the time, it consisted of thirty-three explorers and scientists. Now, the society is 8 million members strong. The magazine was first published nine months after that initial meeting and has been published monthly ever since. It is now delivered to 9 million readers every month and read by over 50 million. Its popularity most likely doesn’t stem from the occasional booby that graces its pages.

Better Homes and Gardens

The third, and most popular “sister” on the list, this monthly magazine needs no introduction—the name kind of says it all anyway. Better Homes and Garden has spawned numerous home economics books, including the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

Reader’s Digest

Co-founded in 1922 by Lila Bell and DeWitt Wallace, America’s most popular magazine is available monthly in thirty-five languages. Published in a pocket-sized format, Reader’s Digest bore the tag “America in your pocket” from 2005 to 2008. The magazine’s popularity is no doubt due to both its general-interest nature and the fifty-two editions that are available worldwide. The publication even goes through a rigorous “localization” process to make sure that international readers aren’t threatened by our dirty American memes. All told, the magazine is read by 100 million people globally, which also makes it the world’s most popular magazine.

The majority of the most popular postage stamps are commemorative of Elvis’s anniversaries, and are highly colorful and attractive. Many are artist portraits depicting Elvis in the different stages of his life and on complete stamp sheets this is particularly effective. A timeline of sorts, we see Elvis as the youthful performer of the 1950’s, through his film career to his black leather-clad comeback in 1968 to the more mature concert artist in the 1970’s. Full stamp sheets usually contain up to four identical or totally different stamps, often on a decorative background. Miniature sheets, usually containing one or two stamps, tend to be more stylized with highly imaginative renderings of Elvis plus objects connected with his life.

The French father and son artists Jean-Louis and Paul Puvilland are the designers of the most interesting Elvis stamps and sheets for many different countries. Artist Isabelle Tanner has also produced several beautiful commemorative sheets themed with backgrounds and quotes. Other Elvis stamps use well-known photographs to make up sheets and single stamps, such as the 1996 sheet of nine stamps from Tanzania bearing the Official Elvis Presley Estate logo. Other Elvis stamps are included in tribute or commemorative sets for cinema, rock, jazz, boxing and even football. Details are given in the following pages.

With the universal appeal of Elvis, it is no surprise that his image is on the most popular stamp, and if collection statistics remain consistent, you may be spotting Elvis more than you think in the future.

Top 25 Most Popular Stamps and the estimated number collected:
1) Elvis 1993 124.1 million
2) Wonders of America 2006 87.5 million
3) Wildflowers 1992 76.1 million
4) Rock & Roll/Rhythm & Blues 1993 75.9 million
5) DC Comics Super Heroes 2006 73.0 million
6) Greetings From America 2002 71.4 million
7) Insects and Spiders 1999 61.0 million
Art of Disney: Romance 2006 57.2 million
9) Legends of Baseball 2000 53.9 million
10) Art of Disney: Celebration 2005 52.8 milion
11) Baseball Playing Fields 2001 49.0 million
12) Art of Disney: Friendship 2004 47.7 million
13) Civil War 1995 46.6 million
14) Legends of the West 1994 46.4 million
15) Marilyn Monroe 1995 46.4 million
16) Advances in Aviation 2005 45.8 million
17) Bugs Bunny 1997 44.1 million
18) Lunar New Year SS 2005 42.7 million
19) Comic Strip Classics 1995 40.8 million
20) Jim Henson: Muppets 2005 40.6 million
21) Cloudscapes 2004 40.1 million
22) Stars and Stripes 2000 40.0 million
23) Baseball Sluggers 2006 39.5 million
24) Summer Olympics 1992 39.5 million
25) Lucille Ball 2001 38.7 million