These days nobody would dream of keeping a wild animal as a pet, but there was a time, not so long ago, when a gentleman could stroll into Harrods and buy an elephant or an alligator. Jonathan Self explores the era of the exotic menagerie.

Horsepower with go-faster stripes: Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868-1937) pictured with his zebra-drawn carriage.
These days nobody would dream of keeping a wild animal as a pet, but there was a time, not so long ago, when a gentleman could stroll into Harrods and buy an elephant or an alligator. Jonathan Self explores the era of the exotic menagerie.