25 Centimes - Chambre de Commerce d'Arras [62]

Arras spent much of the First World War under near-constant artillery bombardment — the town was effectively on the front line from 1914 onward, and normal banking infrastructure had collapsed. The Chambre de Commerce filled the vacuum by issuing emergency small-denomination notes locally, a pattern repeated across occupied and contested northern France. What makes this series unusual is that Imprimerie Malfait managed to produce it within Arras itself, a city being shelled, rather than relocating production south.

Le Mayeur de Merprès, the designer, was a Belgian-born artist who later became better known for his time in Bali. His involvement here is a minor biographical footnote, but an odd one.