Starting in mid-1881, Jacobsen was hired by the Berlin Museum für Völkerkunde to gather ethnographic objects and other specimens.

When he returned to Hamburg in 1877, he was hired by Carl Hagenbeck to recruit Greenlanders for his live exhibitions of indigenous people.

In 1880, once again on behalf of Hagenbeck, Jacobsen recruited a group of eight Labrador Inuit, among which was Abraham Ulrikab.

[1] In mid-1881, Jacobsen was engaged by the Berlin Museum für Völkerkunde to gather ethnographic and other specimens on the west coast of North America.

In 1885, Jacobsen was back in British Columbia, Canada, where he and his brother Bernard Filip hired a group of nine Nuxalk (Bella Coola).