An interesting observation from Prescott’s 1860 book on electricity and telegraphy. The massive aurora of 1852 was the first in the electrical era. Scientists and telegraphers took full advantage of it to make observations and experiments.
= = = = = START QUOTE:
At Springfield, a gentleman who observed the needle of the compass during the auroral display of August 28th, noticed that it was deflected first to the west, and then to the east, while the waves of the aurora were in motion. The electrotype plates at the office of the “Republican” newspaper were so seriously affected by the aurora that they could not be printed from during the continuance of the phenomenon.
= = = = = END QUOTE.
Electrotyping caught my attention. It would make sense if the process of forming an electrotype plate failed during the strong polarity of the aurora. Depositing the copper on a wax matrix involves a long application of steady current in one direction.
But printing from a plate doesn’t involve any currents or electricity. The plate is just a sheet of copper coated with ink and pressed onto paper, same as any hot-lead printing. Ordinary printing does tend to charge up the paper, and presses typically have dangling ‘tinsel’ to steadily discharge the sheets so they won’t try to fly apart when stacked. The book doesn’t say how the plates were “affected”; possibly they repelled ink?
Polistra's Mill 