The Undergraduate Press, a publishing company founded and operated by Harvard students, published its first book this August: a work on French body language entitled "Beaux Gestes," by Laurence Wylie, Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France.

The press began editing the book in the summer of 1976, after signing an agreement with the E.P. Dutton company, which handled the printing and distribution, Elizabeth Bounds '78, director of the Press, said yesterday.

Bounds said the Press was founded to give undergraduates a chance to learn about the process of publishing, but was not necessarily concerned with publishing the work of students. She added that the "misleading name" of the press has elicited a large number of unwanted manuscripts, including a "Harvard novel" by a member of the class of '68, Bounds added.

However Bounds said the press was considering for its next publication an anthology of short fiction written by college students from several universities.

The Press and Wylie were originally brought together by Arthur J. Rosenthal, director of the Harvard University Press, Bounds said. No other professors have submitted manuscripts but the Press has received numerous manuscripts from alumni and undergraduates of Harvard.