London, July 14 (IANS): A series of letters written by Gandhi and Nehru and a piece of signed khadi cloth were sold by Sotheby's Tuesday for a total of 17,500 pounds, the London auction house said.

The Gandhi items were bought jointly by two prominent Indian-origin industrialists - Ghulam Noon, founder of Noon Products and popularly known as Britain's Curry King, and Nat Puri, founder of Purico Group.   

The items, sold in four lots, comprised three signed letters by Gandhi; a signed khadi cloth that was said to have been worn by him; two signed postcards by Gandhi; and a series of 29 letters by Jawaharlal Nehru to freedom fighter Mridula Sarabhai.   

The Gandhi letters, written to Islamic scholar Maulana Abdul Bari, went for 4,750 pounds; his khadi cloth for 2,125 pounds; the postcards from Gandhi to poet Hamidullah Afsar for 1,875 pounds; and the Nehru letters for 8,750 pounds.   

The Nehru letters were bought by a British company trading in books and manuscripts.