Book Recommendations:
The Tower Menagerie: The Amazing 600-Year History of the Royal Collection of Wild and Ferocious Beasts Kept at the Tower of London from Roger Hahn
The Tower menagerie: comprising the natural history of the animals contained in that establishment; with anecdotes of their characters and history. Illustrated by portraits of each, taken from life, by William Harvey; and engraved on wood by Branston and Wright.
Also available on Project Gutenberg
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53764/53764-h/53764-h.htm
John Stow’s Survey of London
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42959/42959-h/42959-h.htm
Matthew Paris and the Elephant
https://finerollshenry3.org.uk/redist/pdf/fm-06-2012.pdf
Rare Beasts, Birds, and the Calaboose, the Paris Review
By Laura Bannister September 22, 2016