GRATEFUL DEAD memorabilia including JERRY GARCIA's gun and some of the group's original handwritten lyrics is being put up for auction.

The private collection of items owned by friends and former employees of the band will go under the hammer at Donley Auction Services in Union, Illinois, on April 11 and 12.

The late GARCIA's colt .25 pistol and original lyrics for Fire On The Mountain and He's Gone are included in the Grateful Dead Family Jubilee Auction, alongside a kitchen table from the band's office in San Rafael, California, and original Rick Griffin and Stanley Mouse artwork.

Last week, DEAD lyricist Robert Hunter recalled being "alarmed" by GARCIA's kind words in the days leading up to the mainman's death.

The band will play three farewell shows in Chicago this summer.