Could Gleason's use of " Modern College" and "J.S. Christopher" just have been a ruse ?
Blackheath Society also responded they had no information.
They suggested I contact Morden College, which I had already done.
I stand corrected and offer my apologies for my errors, especially to the FES.
I received an additional e-mail from Morden College with the following information.:
"Modern is a commom mis-typing of Morden." They have found frequent use of this in their records.
°Joseph Steers Christopher was a resident of Morden College from 1875 until his death in 1894 at the age of 89."
In his application for residency at Morden College, Christopher " Listed himself as a merchant , but there is no mention of any cartographic interests."
It might be that Christopher took up the study of cartography or map making as a hobby or interest during his retirement years at Morden College.
He might have used the same methods fot his own projection as stated. If so, the results would naturally resemble those of the Unipolar Azimuthal Equidistant Projection.
Since the years of 1875-1894 are within those of Rowbotham's , there might have been a Christopher-Rowbotham connection.
Morden College could find no information as to whether Christopher was a flat-earth believer or not.
There was one letter (in 1890) that Morden College was asked if there was a flat-earth believer in resident at Morden, with the comment, " Not Mr. Christopher ? "
Whether there is a Gleason-Christopher connection is another question.