This particular advertising lithograph from the Franz Falk Brewing Company which was based in Milwaukee, WI during the pre-prohibition era is one of my favorites. Breweriana collectors today are always interested in advertising images which contain the brewery or factory scene in the piece. The incorporation of the Falk Brewery in the bottom inset certainly helped create an image in the viewers minds of a massive operation, i.e. one which produced and sold a lot of lager beer, surely because of a superior product. In fact, most factory scenes images used around the 1900 era were used by either larger regional or even national brewers at that time. Interestingly, a true historian of a brewery will oftentimes be able to detect embellishments which were made into the scene, creating an even more intimidating or massive business than was even reality. This particular Falk lithograph used an image of Sir John Falstaff into the top half of the piece. Falstaff was an image created by Shakespeare and he was considered a beer guru and connoisseur in many brewery ads.
The Franz Falk Brewery was eventually bought by the Pabst Brewing family in 1892 and Frederick Pabst not only increased his local brewing capacity but the purchase allowed him to continue his national expansion efforts with more brewing capacity added to his breweries capablities.