i’d like to step in and offer my opinion on this, if only for the benefit of the OP, and first off congrats and enjoy the beautiful new Guild! My guess is there is actually some degree of truth to the tale, some obvious confusion based on the label, and some things that are crystal clear.
First off it is a late NH build, the very late stuff left the factory at the end unfinished/unsold, some stuff finished, or 99 percent etc...I have direct experience with these pieces. many or most of those late acoustics had no label at all, and therefore no serial number either. ive had one in my hands. thats what this is.
someone completed the build outside the factory at minimum with adding the label and possibly the pickguard and other features mentioned previously. it is not so crazy for Guild employees to have old parts and labels lying around at home or even at the factory. as stated, the Westerly labels can be obtained online...and they all started out in the hands of employees in the first place...if an employee had a new Guild w no label post NH, and also had blank Westerly labels (or wanted one), it is not so crazy to use the new Westerly label on the new NH Guild. even the factory used Hoboken labels on Westerlys and possibly Westerly labels on Coronas. it does appear the NH labels ran out or ran out west at some point. I don’t believe the Westerly label *itself is there to deceive or benefit anybody, just a Guild USA label on a Guild USA guitar, similar to the wrong pickguard or bridge pins or tuners etc. On a brand new Guild u would rather advertise it as a NOS NH than a westerly, there is nothing financially to gain in calling that a Westerly. street for that NH model brand new is probably like 3,000 or so. this is not a 2008 telecaster being passed off as 1958. i see no foul play in the Westerly label itself, other than causing some obvious/innocent confusion on where the guitar was made.
what is written on the label is certainty interesting, and my first thought is, id like to think that if 100 of us were going to fake this guitar in any way, at least 99 of us would just write the correct model number and somehow come up w a serial number- be it NH or Westerly. writing “ALB-40x #2”...is not trying to counterfeit anything at all, in my opinion.
the Alvin Lee story is interesting, and not so far fetched so as to suggest that there is a better explanation to it. His surprise death and the no NH label/employee completion post NH certainly lines up w the NH factory closing as far as timing. There is more to the story obviously. They may have made a couple guitars for him, not necessarily all at the same time. they may or may not had made it into his hands. if they did, they did not have Westerly labels. maybe no label at all. this is an ex employees way of conveying what he (or she) knew about the instrument, or thought they knew at least, and just a way of giving it any identity all, something that says Guild USA, its more accurate than wrong if u look at the big picture. just my opinion.
also again, so many better options if you were going to make up some tall tale. just nothing here to gain. the guitar has to be worth at least 2K, maybe closer to 3, if its brand new w the 2013 DTAR.
just my opinion. I would however, change to the non-cutaway pickguard. cheers!