Upon Earl Norman's death, the glass negatives and resultant positives essentially sat around collecting dust for the better part of the next decade on a partially-enclosed brick patio, exposed to the elements, until they were all purchased, along with the remaining photography equipment, from his widow in 1960 by Thomas H. Gandy, a Natchez physician, and his wife Joan, both ardent local preservationists. This was a pivotal moment in the Norman Studio's history, because the Gandys were deeply involved in the campaigns to save much of Natchez's historic fabric and helped found and head the Historic Natchez Foundation, still the city's main organization dedicated to the preservation of the built and material environment.
