Lore Theory: Wagstaff tricked Maxwell into giving him forbidden knowledge

[Dr. Safety]

The further we go, the more we are learning about the background of Charlie and Wagstaff, and so I'm going to throw out a theory I crafted awhile ago after seeing the projector short.

Theory: Wagstaff was the first "survivor" that Maxwell contacted after being put on the throne. He was able to use Wagstaff's projector to appear in his shadow form in Wagstaff's storage room thing, as it was the only link between the Constant and the real world at the time. Maxwell was desperate for help and knew that he could use the shadows to give people superhuman abilities (like Wolfgang's strength in the train crash). In an attempt to get help, he gave Wagstaff the same forbidden knowledge that he gave Wilson. Unlike Wilson, Wagstaff is conman, and understood that he already had what he wanted and so he shut off the projector.

With his new knowledge, Wagstaff was able to make all sorts of technological breakthroughs (keeping them out of public knowledge), as well as attempt to study the Constant. However, everytime he opened the link to the Constant, Maxwell would immediately know and try to hunt him down. This went on for years, which tormented Maxwell immensely, causing him to grow more and more ruthless. 

Wagstaff understood that he wasn't able to make real progress in studying the Constant while always evading an angry Maxwell. He realized that if he made multiple links to the Constant, Maxwell would not be able to track him down as easily, and might even be distracted by other people... people who Maxwell would not let escape like Wagstaff did. 

This is why Wagstaff started making gramophones and radios, infused with shadows, to open a link from Maxwell directly to innocent people. Before long, Maxwell was pulling people into the Constant, and Wagstaff was able to study it freely (this is when solo DS takes place). There is more to this story, especially regarding Wilson and how he came across Wagstaff's old house/lab. I don't have any fun theories about that though so I'll leave it alone.

The only flaw I can think of is Maxwell's examination quotes of Wagstaff in game. They seem to come from mild annoyance rather than hatred for a man who tormented him for years.

TLDR - Wagstaff was given the same forbidden knowledge that Wilson was, but conned Maxwell and never "threw the switch". This turned a sleazy conman into an evil genius, hellbent on expanding his power and influence over the Constant, and soon, the world.