Lil Wayne's Notebook with Lyrics from 1999 for Sale at $250k

Lil Wayne's a lyrical genius who freestyles on all of his tracks, but there was a time when he'd put pen to paper for all of his lyrics ... now a notebook filled with them can be yours for a pretty penny.

The notebook -- written in 1999 when Weezy was an up-and-coming 17-year-old rapper -- is on the market for a cool $250k. The folks over at Moments in Time are handling the sale of the rare collection ... featuring lyrics from "We On Fire" and "I Feel" during Wayne's time with the rap group "Hot Boys."

We're told the person who owns the notebook says he found it in a car that once belonged to Cash Money Records. He says when the dealership he works for took ownership of the whip, the guy rummaged through what was left behind and took possession of the notebook.

Check out the pics and notice the notebook has some water damage. That's because, according to the owner, the notebook came close to getting destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit.

He says he stored the notebook in a box in his garage. When Katrina hit, he evacuated and when he returned, his home was all but destroyed ... as were most of the things in his garage, except for a few items, including the notebook.

Suffice it to say ... whoever scores the notebook's getting his hands on rare hip-hop history.