The gang's success and fame peaked in the 1920s, when they incorporated use of cars into their getaways. They handed off their loot to an accomplice on foot, while luring police to chase a car that had no stolen goods. Have you ever seen a car from the 1920s in person?

Although unscrupulous, the gang members lived by a "Hoisters Code", which forbade drinking the night before a job, wearing pilfered clothes, or helping the police. The women offered phony alibis for arrested members, and provided funds for families of members sent to prison. Does the code sound reasonable to you?

Queen of the Forty Elephants Gang, Diamond Annie (Alice Diamond), took exception to a member marrying a man she disapproved of, and led a group of members armed with chunks of concrete and broken bottles to brutally attack the newlywed groom. Have you ever seen a person struck on the head by a bottle, in person?

While in prison, Diamond Annie was replaced as queen, and left the gang. The new leader was Lillian Kendall (in the photo) nicknamed "The Bobbed-hair Bandit." Annie spent her remaining years running her brothel until she died from multiple sclerosis at 55. The improvements in store security and more-fitted apparel led to a decline in gang activities in the 1950's. Do you think Lillian Kendall's appearance would be advantageous in a career of crime?