Many Gazette readers will identify with not quite being able to remember how old they are – at least until the maths is done. Institutions sometimes have the same problem. A few weeks back, the Law Society Art Group (LSAG) asked the Gazette for a small spot to announce the deadline for submissions for its exhibition in January.

When asked if there might be a 'hook', such as an anniversary, LSAG committee member Jon Corballis said ‘well, we think it’s our 49th year in 2009, but we can’t be sure'. But a swift email to the Law Society’s incomparable library came up with a hidden gem.

In 1958, the Gazette was still a monthly organ. In the November issue, our tireless librarians discovered an item about the Society’s Eastbourne Conference: ‘This year the Council have decided to organise an exhibition of paintings and drawings by members… The right to submit a work for inclusion in the exhibition will be extended to all members of the Society whether or not they are attending the conference.’

So, the LSAG itself might not be quite so old, but its origins date back precisely half a century.

Get your entries in now for next year – application forms are being sent out for return by 10 November (some extension is possible, says the LSAG).

For more information on the LSAG, contact Hazel Bate, tel: 020 8946 5094 or email: hazel.bate@lineone.net.

The annual exhibition will be held in the Law Society's Hall, 113 Chancery Lane, London, from 14-23 January 2009.