3 Pence rose-lilac, Queen Victoria 1871, plate 6, watermark 6 Spray of Rose, horizontal pair letters HA-HB, cancelled Nottingham oval duplex "583" and NOTTINGHAM single-circle on folded cover sent to Beyrouth, Syria, British Levant, single-circle LONDON 9 MY 71 transit on reverse. Routed via Belgium (Ostend, Aachen) and Trieste (Austria), then Austrian Lloyd packet service, normal route via France (Marseille) and Italy (Brindisi) interrupted by Franco-Russian war. Front with Austrian Levant post single-circle "BERUTTI 22 5" at Beirut. Pair upper left corner rounded, otherwise stamps very fine and fresh-coloured, originally affixed; small impairment tolerable given exceptional routing. Commercial links between Nottingham, English lace and textile centre, and Beirut limited then, hence few covers via this rare route. 6 Pence for letter up to 1/2 ounce, paid "via Belgium" to Beirut, red "PD" on front, very attractive fresh overall condition, photo certificate Albert Louis BPP (2023), (SGNo.103), ex Rolf Rohlfs collection.