How To Read The Bible [With Original Letter From Edgar J Goodspeed Regarding The Meaning Of "666"]

Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company, 1946. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. X, 244 Pp. Red Cloth, Gilt. Some Wear, Some Edges Of Gilt Are Rubbed Away., But All Lettering Clear, No Fraying, Hinges Tight, 1/2" Roundish Damp Spot Near Center Of Front Cover. Ownership Signature Of A Family Member, A Postcard To Them From Italy From Goodspeed, And With A Typed, Signed Folded Letter From Goodspeed, On His 551 Perugia Way, Bel-Air Letterhead Neatly Tipped Onto Rear Endpaper. The Letter Reads "You Were Inquiring About The Way 666 Stands For Nero Caesar, And As I Have Just Had To Work It Out Afresh For A Man In Peoria Illinois, Here It Is! The Jews Had No System Of Figures But Used The Letters Of The Alphabet, The First Nine Being The Units Aleph To Teth (The Hebrew Alphabet You Have Of Course In The Titles Of The Strophes Of The 119Th Psalm). Then The Tens Are The Letters From Yodh To Tsadhe; And The Hundreds From Qoph On. As Applied To The Name Nero [Goodspeed Handwrites "Nron" Above], In Aramaic, Which Used The Same System, N (Nun) Is 50, Resh Is 200, O(Waw) Is 6 And The Final N (Nun) Is 50, Making 306, Out Of Neron (E Has No Value In Hebrew Numbers, Being Not A Letter) For Caesar, (Qoph - Samekh - Resh), Soph Is 100, Samekh Is 60 And Resh Is 200, Making 360, Which Added To 306 Aboive Makes A Total Of 666, Q. E. D. Such Are The Wonders Of Gematria, Or Gematry, As Practiced By The Greeks And Jews. Affectionately Your Uncle [Signed] Edgar.