Definition of "hoister"

[…] putting one foot into it, so as the better to secure his slippery hand-hold on the whip itself, the hoisters ran him high up to the top of the head, almost before Tashtego could have reached its interior bottom.

1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

In order better to appreciate the use of argot among thieves, a visit to a few public bars of the third-class public houses of Kennington or in the immediate vicinity of the Elephant and Castle would prove of great value, as hoisters, whizzers, tea-leaves, con-heads, broadsmen and brass nobs […]

1931, The Police Journal, volume 4, page 504

Like their friends the "draggers," the "hoisters" or shoplifters are having a thin time these days, […]

1945, Jack Henry, What Price Crime?, page 92