10 Francs - Federal Treasury Italian text

Switzerland's entry into emergency paper money in August 1914 was abrupt. The Federal Council authorized the Cassa Federale notes within days of the European mobilization, bypassing the Swiss National Bank entirely — a decision that created an awkward parallel currency that remained technically in circulation until 1920. Bradbury Wilkinson, already well-regarded for their intaglio security work across colonial and European contracts, handled the printing in London under considerable time pressure.

The Italian-text variant reflects Switzerland's constitutional obligation to serve all three of its main linguistic communities simultaneously. Ernst Stückelberg, the Basel painter best known for his Tell frescoes at Bürglen, contributed the design — an unusual choice of a fine artist over a commercial illustrator for what was essentially a wartime stopgap instrument.