Which encyclopedia to get first?

I'm thinking about buying one of the three (so far) tarot encyclopedias by Kaplan.
I will probably get all of them eventually....

Right now, I am mostly interested in the Marseilles decks and their history.

From what I understood, part III deals more with modern decks.

So, which one would be the most useful to start learning about the Tarot de Marseille with? I or II?

Vol. I has a huge essay about the Visconti, which is very interesting. And Vol. II has another essay about it.

The TdM is mention in Vol. II in an essay about Major Arcana symbolism. And there are lots of pictures of it as well.

I would suggest Vol. II, based on the little bit that I have looked through and read the two volumes.

Yes, I would go for Vol II first if you are not so interested in modern decks. It's well worth having, there is a lot of information, even if the organisation is sometimes a bit confusing.

I would say definitely volume II. It covers tarot from the 15th to 19th centuries, and goes into detail about the cardmakers, tax stamps, etc. There is a section containing information about the Marseilles in volume I, but volume II has more.

Thank you all for those fast answers!

I'll start with Vol. II, then.

Hopefully, I'll be able to order it next week.