Spend even 15 minutes delving into magic history and you’ll find yourself with one undeniable truth: early magicians were not very good at documenting things for posterity. That sad reality makes the work of historians and archivists, such as Dr. Tim Moore, all the more critical.

Moore is a magic collector, and he’s done an impressive amount of work for the world of magicians. With more than 2,000 items in his collection, that’s a whole lot of preservation. Moore talked about his work, including advice for aspiring collectors, on the latest episode of The Magic Word podcast with Scott Wells. The pair discusses many facets of collection, from his efforts to preserve the Howard Thurston mausoleum in Columbus, Ohio, to the Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin museum in Blois, France.

But Moore’s still got other tricks up his sleeve. As you’ll hear, he’s still hot on the trail of Houdini’s milk can. If you’ve been sitting on any information, he’s the man to tell. Listen to the full episode on The Magic Word website.