The banquet at the Crystal Palace that took place inside one of Hawkins' dinosaur sculptures happened in 1853. For the establishing shot, naturally I wanted something evocative of London, and I thought of Big Ben. But it turns out Big Ben was still under construction at that time! I wasn't able to source much accurate material on how it was built, or what else was around the site at the time, so even though I was aiming for accuracy, I still used primarily modern photos for reference.

But also, the real Gideon Mantell died in 1852, so realistically his tardiness should not have drawn much attention. I hope this information does not impede your enjoyment of a story that has never before taken liberties with history.