Jacques Jacobsen Jr. was born October 5, 1932 in Staten Island, New York. Jacques received his Bachelor of Science in Bacteriology and Public Health in 1954 from Wagner College. Also at Wagner College Jacques earned a Masters in Archaeology in 1963 and in the late 1970s he completed work on his 5th year equivalent in Administration. Jacques completed course work but not the dissertation for a doctorate in Near Eastern Archaeology at Columbia University. Mr. Jacobsen has been a bacteriologist, auctioneer, earth science high school teacher, and has taught Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology at Wagner College. He was the director of the Museum of Archaeology at Staten Island. Jacques also was a curator of fire and police collections at the Staten Island Historical Society’s Richmondtown Restoration and was the editor in chief of their journal The Staten Island Historian. Mr. Jacobsen is the co-author of The Red Blue Coats, The Indian Scouts and has written over twenty monographs and numerous articles in various publications. After his retirement from teaching Jacques and his wife, Marion, have run a very successful business in American Military Antiques, offering original and historical artifacts and memorabilia for the collector-investor. Jacques is a fellow in the Company of Military Historians.

Marion Jacobsen was born June 30, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from New York University. Marion worked at Methodist Hospital in New York and for the Visiting Nurse Association of Brooklyn and Staten Island. In 1953-54 Marion was a flight nurse at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. At the Museum of Archaeology at Staten Island Mrs. Jacobsen was in charge of acquisitions and new exhibits. She is the treasurer of the Archaeology Society of Staten Island, an organization founded by the Jacobsens. Marion is an accomplished artist working in gold, silver, enamels and oil paintings.

Jacques and Marion Jacobsen collected Alaska-Yukon and Arctic items for over 40 years. While a flight nurse at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, Marion began collecting Eskimo, Indian and Alaska items. After their marriage, August 1, 1959, the Jacobsens began to expand their Eskimo collection, acquiring antique pieces as well as many ivory pieces from the best of the living carvers. After spending the summer of 1973 in Alaska traveling by Winnebago and plane with their four children the Jacobsens began to enlarge their collection of Alaska and Arctic material. Stereographs were one of the items collected by Jacques and Marion. They collected stereographs because these views were the most common form of outdoor photography in the last half of the 19th century. Their Alaska-Yukon and Arctic stereograph collection is comprised of 170 views.

Over the years Jacques and Marion have collected hundreds of Alaska-Yukon and Arctic items. The Jacobsens thought at one time they would like to start a business selling these items when they retired. Instead they have chosen to donate the remaining pieces in their collection to various libraries and museums for interested people to view and enjoy.

[Information from: Alaska Historical Collections Biographical Information form, written correspondence September and May 2000, electronic mail November and December 2002. Written by Jacki Swearingen]