Garcia guitars go under the e-hammer

Two guitars once owned by legendary Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry Garcia are up for auction on eBay.

The guitars, dubbed 'Wolf' and 'Tiger', are among an assortment of memorabilia including unpublished photos, concert posters and Garcia's artwork.

Widely touted as the Rolls Royce of guitars, Wolf and Tiger were hand built by craftsman guitar maker Doug Irwin from rare woods embellished with mother of pearl and ivory inlay. They took six years to construct.

The instruments are expected to sell for more than the $450,000 paid for Eric Clapton's guitar used to record Layla.

Garcia bequeathed the guitars to Irwin in his will, but after he was left destitute following a 1998 traffic accident, Irwin decided to sell the instruments to re-establish a guitar workshop.

Security for the sale is extremely tight and potential bidders will have to register on eBay and provide a letter of guarantee from a bank.

The sale is the latest high-profile auction for eBay, which last month sold a round of golf with Tiger Woods for $425,000.

eBay representatives did not return calls seeking comment.