Kate Leigh (1881–1964) survived a rough upbringing in her hometown of Dubbo to become one of the more successful Australian crooks of the early twentieth century. Establishing herself in Surry Hills, Leigh ran a business that specialised in diversification (including drugs, sly grog and stolen goods). Leigh is known for her role in Sydney’s ‘Razor Wars’, when gangs, in response to the Pistol License Act 1927 (NSW), started carrying razors instead of firearms during the 1920s and 1930s. Feisty and fearless, Leigh was very good at being mostly bad. This photograph, probably by Vic Johnstone, was taken in 1951 when Leigh was 70. Despite her business collapsing after a fight with the Australian Tax Office and changes to drinking regulations, she holds a special power in this image: she still owns her celebrity.